Monday, September 30, 2013

"Tantric Buddhism first developed in Uddiyana, a country which was divided into two kingdoms Sambhala and Lankapuri. Sambhala has been identified with Sambalpur and Lankapuri with Subarnapura (Sonepur)."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sambalpur

"Kalachakra tantra was first taught by the Buddha to King Indrabhuti, the first dharmaraja of Shambhala.......'Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmin of Shambhala village, the great souls Vishnuyasha and Sumati." (Srimad-Bhagavatam Bhag.12.2.18)....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sambalpur

"The History of Sambalpur in the Indian state of Orissa can be traced back to 100 AD. It was mentioned in the book of Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus) as Sambalaka on the left bank of river "Manada", now known as Mahanadi. Other evidence is available from the records of Xuanzang, and in the writings of the celebrated King Indrabhuti of Sambalaka of Odra Desha or Oddiyan (oldest known king of Sambalpur), the founder of Vajrayana Buddhism and the Lama cult. He has written the book Jñānasiddhi (Sanskrit: ज्ञानसिद्धिर्नामसाधनम्; IAST: jñānasiddhirnāmasādhanam; Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་གྲུབ་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་སྒྲུབ་པའི་ཐབས, Wylie: ye shes grub pa zhes bya ba'i sgrub pa'i thabs which is T2219 of the Tibetan Tengyur)."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Sambalpur

"Ptolemy mentions Sambalaka as a city in the country of the Mandalai which produced the finest diamonds in the world. Now, although it is possible that he may have referred to Sambalpur on the Mahanâdï, where diamonds are known to occur, I prefer to identify it with Tavernier's Soumelpour, as above, because it was situated in the country generally recognized as that of the Mandali or Mundas, while Sambalpur is beyond its limits.
Further, it may be conveniently remarked here that Ptolemy's Adamas river, although he clearly indicates its origin in Chota Nägpur (Kokkonage or Kokra), has by some authors been identified with the Mahanâdï, while others have with greater probability identified it with one or other of the rivers rising in Chota Nägpur, namely, the Dâmudâ, Subanrikhä or Brahmani, with its tributaries the Sänkh and Southern Koel, to which we shall presently again refer. The Mahanâdï is probably Ptolemy's Manada, rising in the country of the Sabarae or Savaras, where diamonds were also obtained."....http://www.farlang.com/diamonds/tavernier-travels-india-2/page_373

"Sambalpur derives its name from that of the Goddess Samalei, who is regarded as the reigning deity of the region. The region in which Sambalpur city is located was also known as Hirakhanda from ancient times. In history, it has also been known as 'Sambalaka'. Claudius Ptolemy has described the place as "Sambalak". According to Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the French traveller, and Edward Gibbon, the English historian, diamonds were exported to Rome from Sambalpur...."..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambalpur

"Although it is generally accepted that Tantric Buddhism first developed in the country of Uddiyana or Odra Desha under King Indrabhuti, there is an old and well known scholarly dispute as to whether Uddiyana or Odra was in the Swat valley, Odisha or some other place.....Indrabhuti, the oldest known king of Sambalpur founded Vajrayana while his sister who was married to Yuvaraja Jalendra of Lankapuri (Suvarnapur) founded Sahajayana. These new Tantric cults of Buddhism introduced Mantra, Mudra and Mandala along with six Tantric Abhicharas (practices) such as Marana, Stambhana, Sammohana, Vidvesan, Uchchatana and Vajikarana. The Tantric Buddhist sects made efforts to raise the dignity of the lowest of the low of the society to a higher plane. It revived primitive beliefs and practices a simpler and less formal approach to the personal god, a liberal and respectful attitude towards women and denial of caste system.....From the seventh century A.D. onwards many popular religious elements of heterogeneous nature were incorporated into Mahayana Buddhism which finally resulted in the origin of Vajrayana, Kalachakrayana and Sahajayana Tantric Buddhism. Tantric Buddhism first developed in Uddiyana, a country which was divided into two kingdoms Sambhala and Lankapuri. Sambhala has been identified with Sambalpur and Lankapuri with Subarnapura (Sonepur).".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambalpur

"Kalki Avatar and Sambalpur.....Kalachakra tantra was first taught by the Buddha to King Indrabhuti, the first dharmaraja of Shambhala. It is widely believed that the next Hindu Avatar known as Kalki will take birth at Sambalpur or Shambhala as this place was known in olden times. There are several mentions of the place Shambhala in different Hindu and Buddhist religious texts as the birthplace of Kalki. The Mahabharatra (Vana Parva, 190.93-97) and Srimad-Bhagavatam Bhag.12.2.18 give reference of Shambhala as the birthplace.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambalpur

"Chakra Sambar Tantricism of Tantric Buddhism gained popularity in the Gandhagiri region. The chief deity of Chakra Sambara Tantra is Buddha Sambara, the deity whose worship is still popular in China and Tibet. According to Sadhanamala, god Buddha Sambara is one-faced and two-armed. He appears terrible with his garment of tiger-skin, garland of heads, a string of skulls round the head, three eyes and in Âlidhamudrâ, he tramples upon Kalaratri. A number of texts relating to the procedures of worship of God Buddha Sambara have been composed by siddhacharyas like Darikapa, Santideva, Jayadratha and others. King Indrabhuti of Shambala (Sambalpur) composed Chakra Sambara Stotra, Chakra Sambara Anubandha Samgraha, Chakra Sambara Tantraraga Sambara Samuchchaya Nama Brutti etc. The philosopher cum king Indrabhuti became the source inspiration to the adherents of Tantric Buddhist cult in Kosal including Gandhagiri region."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sambalpur

Odisha /ɒˈrɪsə/ (Oriya: ଓଡ଼ିଶା [oˑɽisaˑ]), formerly known as Orissa, is an Indian state on the subcontinent's east coast, by the Bay of Bengal.

"Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves are partly natural and partly artificial caves of archaeological, historical and religious importance near the city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. The caves are situated on two adjacent hills, Udayagiri and Khandagiri, mentioned as Kumari Parvat in the Hathigumpha inscription.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayagiri_and_Khandagiri_Caves

"Padmasambhava Vihar, formerly known as Rigon Thupten Mindrolling, is Namkha Drimed Rinpoche’s monastery in Orissa, India. The site for the Rinchen Terdzo, this monastery is located in the middle of the Indian state of Orissa, in an isolated, hilly region several hours drive from the eastern coast.".....http://shambhalatimes.org/2009/03/23/recapping-the-rinchen-terdzo-in-Orissa-india/

"Although it is generally accepted that Tantric Buddhism first developed in the country of Uddiyana or Odra Desha under King Indrabhuti, there is an old and well known scholarly dispute as to whether Uddiyana or Odra was in the Swat valley, Odisha or some other place."...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sambalpur

"Indrabhuti: the Enlightened Siddha King….the land of Oddiyana was divided into two kingdoms. The Kingdom of Lankapuri was Brahmin and ruled by king Jalendra and the Kingdom of Sambhola was Buddhist and ruled by king Indrabhuti."…http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=577

"Mahasiddha Lakshimikara…Laksminkara: “She Who Makes Fortune”/”The Mad Princess”In the Dakini realm of Oddiyana, King Indrabhuti ruled Sambhola, and to cement thefriendship with his neighboring kingdom, Lankapuri which was ruled by King Jalendra;Indrabhuti betrothed his sister Laksminkara at age 7 to the son of Jalendra."…http://www.slideshare.net/DharmavsKarma/84-mahassidas

"Indrabhuti had a young sister named Lakshminkara of whom king Jalendra wanted his son to marry. Although the countries had religious differences, Indrabhuti agreed that when Lakshminkara was of age, she would move to Lankapuri to marry the prince."....http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=577

"The matter of the conflation of Indrabhuti and at least one evocation of the historicity of a particular personage by that name is intimately connected with the location of 'Oddiyana'...in Tibetan: (1) O-rgyān, U-rgyān, O-ḍi-yā-na, and (2) O-ḍi-vi-śā, with the first series connected with Indrabhūti, i.e., Oḍiyăna and Uḍḍiyāna....In the Sādhanamālā, he further points out, Uḍḍiyāna is also spelt as Oḍrayāna while in the Kālikā Purāṇa, as indicated earlier, it is spelt either Uḍḍiyāna or Oḍra. ...."...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indrabhuti

"According to Nyingma tradition, King Ja (also known as Indrabhuti) taught himself intuitively from "the Book" of the Tantric Way of Secret Mantra (that is Mantrayana) that magically fell from the sky along with other sacred objects and relics "upon the roof of King Ja" according to Dudjom (1904–1987), et al. (1991: p. 613 History) this happened on the Tibetan calendar year of the Earth Monkey, which Dudjom et al. identify as 853 BC."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indrabhuti

"Indrabhuti, the oldest known king of Sambalpur founded Vajrayana while his sister who was married to Yuvaraja Jalendra of Lankapuri (Suvarnapur) founded Sahajayana. These new Tantric cults of Buddhism introduced Mantra, Mudra and Mandala along with six Tantric Abhicharas (practices) such as Marana, Stambhana, Sammohana, Vidvesan, Uchchatana and Vajikarana. The Tantric Buddhist sects made efforts to raise the dignity of the lowest of the low of the society to a higher plane. It revived primitive beliefs and practices a simpler and less formal approach to the personal god, a liberal and respectful attitude towards women and denial of caste system.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sambalpur

"Tantric Buddhism first developed in Uddiyana, a country which was divided into two kingdoms Sambhala and Lankapuri. Sambhala has been identified with Sambalpur and Lankapuri with Subarnapura (Sonepur)."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sambalpur

"Kalachakra tantra was first taught by the Buddha to King Indrabhuti, the first dharmaraja of Shambhala.......'Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmin of Shambhala village, the great souls Vishnuyasha and Sumati." (Srimad-Bhagavatam Bhag.12.2.18)....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sambalpur

Masters of Mahamudra: Songs and Histories of the Eighty-Four Buddhist Siddhas
By Abhayadatta

Sunday, September 29, 2013

"Indrabhuti: the Enlightened Siddha King….the land of Oddiyana was divided into two kingdoms. The Kingdom of Lankapuri was Brahmin and ruled by king Jalendra and the Kingdom of Sambhola was Buddhist and ruled by king Indrabhuti."…http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=577

"Like the Epic of Gesar, there are many different versions of the great epic Ramayana.... (India, Sri Lanka, Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, etc)."

Udegram: the Castle (5th-14th cent. CE), tentatively identified by Tucci as the Palace of Indrabhuti described by Tibetan pilgrims

"Indrabhuti (alternatively King Ja) is a name attributed to a number of individuals that have become conflated in the esoteric Buddhadharma tradition of Mantrayana….The matter of the conflation of Indrabhuti and at least one evocation of the historicity of a particular personage by that name is intimately connected with the location of 'Oddiyana' …….According to Nyingma tradition, King Ja (also known as Indrabhuti) taught himself intuitively from "the Book" of the Tantric Way of Secret Mantra (that is Mantrayana) that magically fell from the sky along with other sacred objects and relics "upon the roof of King Ja" …..….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indrabhuti

"It is possible that the events of epic Ramayana could have occurred outside the confines of present day India. Ram’s father Dasarath lived in the heavenly city of Ayodhya on the banks of the river Saryu. This might have been a river called the Syr Darya that flows through present day Turkmenistan and Kyrghistan. It is located north of the Pamirs ( Meru) with a city called Andijan that is phonetically quite similar to Ayodhya, as the capital of the area. East of it is Kashi ( Kashgar) and west is Samarkand that was known as the Markanda in the Puranas ."…..Andijan is located in one of the hotbeds of Central Asia, which appeared early farming, formed the first samples of urban culture. In this territory were the ruins of an early city Dalvarzina (9th-7th centuries BC) and the ancient city of Èjlatona (6th-3rd centuries BC). To its geopolitical location Andijan served as a bridge between Bactria, Sogdiana, Chach with China (Xinjiang).

"In Hinduism, Alaka (Sanskrit: अलक), which is also sometimes called Alakapuri, is a mythical city. It is the home of Kubera, the king of Yakshas and the lord of wealth, and his attendants called yakshas. The Mahabharata mentions this city as the capital of the Yaksha Kingdom. This city rivals the capital of Indra the king of the Devas in its architecture, opulence, and overall splendor. It is quoted in the famous lyrical poem Meghadūta by Kalidasa

"THE LIFE OF GU.RU INDRABHUTI…..In the country of U.rgyan., there were five hundred thousand cities…..Two kings ruled them… Indrabhuti ruled the two hundred fifty thousand cities of Sam.bhola……At the same time, King J a.la.ndra. ruled the two hundred fifty thousand cities of La.ngka.bu.ri…..To the king of Sambhola, Indrabhuti, there- was a sister. La.kshmi. ka.ra . so-called, who was seVen years old….. (she) did her siddhi… of 'earth-di~coverir:g', …..NOTES ON THE TRANSLATION…. U.rgyan: Skt. Uddyana. in the Pakistan Himlayas; aho the home of Guru Rinpoche…..Sam.bhol.la.: Spelling resEmbles Sham.bha.la., a mythic Tibetan paradise-realm. Although Sham.bhala. is mually said to. be in the north, Sam.bhol.la. is to the west………." Excerpts from a translation of the biography of the mahasiddha Indrabhuti with notes…..By Nathan Katz….http://chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com/en/index.php?title=A_translation_of_the_biography_of_the_mahasiddha_Indrabhuti_with_notes

"Mahasiddha Lakshimikara…Laksminkara: “She Who Makes Fortune”/”The Mad Princess”In the Dakini realm of Oddiyana, King Indrabhuti ruled Sambhola, and to cement thefriendship with his neighboring kingdom, Lankapuri which was ruled by King Jalendra;Indrabhuti betrothed his sister Laksminkara at age 7 to the son of Jalendra."…http://www.slideshare.net/DharmavsKarma/84-mahassidas

Emperor Ravana lived about 5000 years ago in Lankapuri. As a buddhist, Ravana was vegetarian and worshiped Kashyapa Buddha. His kingdom was Lankapura and queen was Mandodari King's children were known as Upendraminika (son) and Sohili (daughter)."

"…Kubera (Sanskrit: कुबेर, Pali/later Sanskrit: Kuvera) also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North (Dik-pala), and a protector of the world (Lokapala) His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted as a fat man, adorned with jewels and carrying a money-pot or money-bag, and a club……Originally described as the chief of evil spirits in Vedic-era texts, Kubera acquired the status of a Deva (god) only in the Puranas and the Hindu epics. The scriptures describe that Kubera once ruled Lanka, but was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, later settling in the city of Alaka in the Himalayas. Descriptions of the "glory" and "splendours" of Kubera's city are found in many scriptures.
Kubera has also been assimilated into the Buddhist and Jain pantheons. In Buddhism, he is known as Vaisravana, the patronymic used of the Hindu Kubera and is also equated with Pañcika, while in Jainism, he is known as Sarvanubhuti.

"In Hinduism, Alaka (Sanskrit: अलक), which is also sometimes called Alakapuri, is a mythical city. It is the home of Kubera, the king of Yakshas and the lord of wealth, and his attendants called yakshas. The Mahabharata mentions this city as the capital of the Yaksha Kingdom. This city rivals the capital of Indra the king of the Devas in its architecture, opulence, and overall splendor. It is quoted in the famous lyrical poem Meghadūta by Kalidasa…"…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaka

"Indrabhuti……shak pu tri - Shakputri. The son of King Jah and lineage holder of both Mahayoga and Anu Yoga. He is also known as Indrabhuti the Younger and Master Lawapa…..Accomplishment of Nonduality, written by Indrabhuti's consort Lakshmikara;."…..http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Indrabhuti

Masters of Mahamudra: Songs and Histories of the Eighty-Four Buddhist Siddhas…..By Abhayadatta

"…The great river Sindhu, one of the four great rivers that springs from the four directions of Kailash mountain, flows towards the Western Land of Odiyana and finally empties into the Arabian Sea. When the river reaches Odiyana, it forms a lake filled with lotuses. As the lotus roots produce a sweet-milky juice, it is called "Ocean of Milk."…..At this time, in the land of Uddiyana, in the northwest of Kashmir located west of Bodhgaya, a blind king by the name of Indrabhuti ruled." …..http://www.thranguhk.org/buddhism/en_padmasambhava.html?keepTh..

" the Ramayana records, was granted to Kubera by Brahma—the creator-god and father of Pulastya—as a reward for his severe penance. Brahma also conferred upon Kubera the riches of the world (Nidhis), "equality with gods", and the Pushpaka Vimana, a flying chariot. Kubera then ruled in the golden city of Lanka,"…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubera

"…Trikuta (Sinhala: Thirikunamalai, Tamil: Tirikutamalai, Trikuta giri, Thai: Nila Kala) is a three peaked mountain. It appears in Hindu mythology, and also appears as a geographic feature of Jammu and Kashmir in India…..Trikuta is one of the twenty mountains surrounding Maha-Meru. The height is said in the Bhagavata Purana to be 10,000 yojanas, and the three peaks are iron, silver and gold. We find its references in the Sundarkand chapter of the Ramayana and its location is believed to be in Lanka…..Jammu and Kashmir (i/dʒɑːmuː/ & /kæʃmɪər/; Urdu: جموں و کشمیر‎; Dogri, Hindi: जम्मू और कश्मीर; Kashmiri: जोम त कशीर (Devanagari), جوم تِ کشیر (Nastaliq); Ladakhi: ཇ་མུ་དང་ཀ་ཤི་མིར།)…..Trikuta is located in Jammu, which is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India. Trikuta, the triple peak, is where the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi can be found…..Vaishno Devi Mandir (Hindi: वैष्णोदेवी मन्दिर) is one of the holy Hindu temples dedicated to Shakti, located at the Trikuta Mountains within the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.."…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trikuta

"…Yaksha Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe of mythical creatures called Yakshas who were one of the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India and ancient Lanka. They had kinship with another more demonic tribe, the Rakshasas. The King of Yakshas, Vaisravana (also known as Kubera, Kuvera, Bishamon-ten etc.) and the Rakshasa king, Ravana, were both sons of the sage Visrava Paulastya from two different wives. Kubera is sometimes mentioned as a Rakshasa king. Kubera ruled a Yaksha kingdom of enormous wealth. "….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha_Kingdom

" King Indrabhuti of Shambala (Sambalpur) composed Chakra Sambara Stotra, Chakra Sambara Anubandha Samgraha, Chakra Sambara Tantraraga Sambara Samuchchaya Nama Brutti etc. The philosopher cum king Indrabhuti became the source inspiration to the adherents of Tantric Buddhist cult in Kosal including Gandhagiri region....Kalachakra tantra was first taught by the Buddha to King Indrabhuti, the first dharmaraja of Shambhala....'Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmin of Shambhala village, the great souls Vishnuyasha and Sumati." (Srimad-Bhagavatam Bhag.12.2.18)."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sambalpur

Saturday, September 28, 2013

"Indrabhuti: the Enlightened Siddha King….the land of Oddiyana was divided into two kingdoms. The kingdom of Lankapuri was Brahmin and ruled by king Jalendra and the kingdom of Sam.bhola was Buddhist and ruled by king Indrabhuti."…http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=577

Vimāna, Lung-gom, and the Flight of Rigden King…."Vimana: From that meaning Pushpaka or Dandumonara; the flying palace of King Rāvana of Lankapura…….a chariot of the gods, any mythical self-moving aerial car (sometimes serving as a seat or throne, sometimes self-moving and carrying its occupant through the air; other descriptions make the Vimana more like a house or palace, and one kind is said to be seven stories high)"…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimana

"… King Ravana (also spelled Rawana) reigned in Lankapuri, which was portrayed as a demon kingdom and Ravana as a demon ("rakshasa") king. He is said to have obtained his rule by wresting it from his half-brother Kubera……Ravana's parents were reportedly King Visravasmuni (or Visrawasa) and his second wife Kesini (or Kaikasi or Kaikesi). Almost all sources agree that Ravana was a devotee of Shiva who named him Ravana, whereas his original name was Dashanan (or Dasagriva). Ravana's father was also reported to be a Brahmin sage called Vishrava, which makes him a Brahmin, and because of his penance and devotion to the god Brahma, he was granted a boon: it was impossible for anything to kill him, except man….He seems to have lived about 5000 years ago and is credited by some sources with building a temple in honour of his parents that is still standing today. It is called the Isurumuniya. Other sources say that the temple was built by King Devenampiyatissa. The existence of this temple, among other factors, is proffered as evidence that Ravana was a real person and not just a mythological figure….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rāvana

"….most of the historic texts that mention Ravana are Indian (Hindu), not Sri Lankan. The most well-known is the Ramayana, an epic poem of 24,000 couplets in seven books, which tells the tale of how Ravana abducted king Rama's wife Sita, which led to a protracted war in which Ravana was eventually defeated by Rama with the help of the monkey king and the monkey general." ..http://www.helium.com/items/1051618-who-was-king-ravana

"The Hindu feast of Dussehra celebrates the death of Ravana, or more accurately, the victory of good over evil, while Divali (Diwali, the festival of lights) is said to celebrate the victorious homecoming of Rama and Sita"….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasara

"One curiosity that most sources do not fail to mention, is the flying chariot, the Pushpaka Vimana, which Ravana stole from his brother. It is described as "that aerial and excellent chariot going everywhere at will"….Emperor Ravana lived about 5000 years ago in Lankapuri. As a buddhist, Ravana was vegetarian and worshiped Kashyapa Buddha. His kingdom was Lankapura and queen was Mandodari King's children were known as Upendraminika (son) and Sohili (daughter)."….http://ravanalankapura.wordpress.com/learning-about-king-ravana/

"Kubera (Sanskrit: कुबेर, Pali/later Sanskrit: Kuvera) also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North (Dik-pala), and a protector of the world (Lokapala) His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted as a fat man, adorned with jewels and carrying a money-pot or money-bag, and a club……Originally described as the chief of evil spirits in Vedic-era texts, Kubera acquired the status of a Deva (god) only in the Puranas and the Hindu epics. The scriptures describe that Kubera once ruled Lanka, but was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, later settling in the city of Alaka in the Himalayas. Descriptions of the "glory" and "splendours" of Kubera's city are found in many scriptures…..Kubera has also been assimilated into the Buddhist and Jain pantheons. In Buddhism, he is known as Vaisravana, the patronymic used of the Hindu Kubera and is also equated with Pañcika, while in Jainism, he is known as Sarvanubhuti."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubera

H"indu Shahi ruler Jayapala (c. 964-1001), driving the Hindu Shahis back to Gandhara and Oddiyana, and extended his rule as far as northeastern Iran….Jayapala Shahi, or simply Jayapala, was ruler of the Kabul Shahi dynasty from 964 to 1001 CE in what is now eastern Afghanistan."...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayapala

"The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and an important part of the Hindu canon. One of the most important literary works of ancient India, the Ramayana consists of 7 chapters (Kānda), and narrates the story of Rama’s wife Sita being abducted by Rāvana, the demon (Rākshasa) king of Lanka…..According to the Ramayana, king Rāvana brought Sita Devi from India in a “Pushpaka Vimana” which is widely known in Sri Lanka as the “Dandu Monara Yanthranaya”, or Large Peacock Machine in Sinhala…. The Ramayana begins with Ayodhya in India and climaxes at Lankapura."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana

"The Kidnapping of Sita by Rāvana…….Rāvana was the king of Lanka and another 9 kingdoms. He was known as Dasis (or Dasa Shirsha) meaning 10 heads, because he had ten crowns, one each for his ten kingdoms…..His sister Surpanakha went to Jambudweepa for some business…..Surpanakha chanced upon Rama at his hermitage and became enamored with the handsome prince. Rama being faithful to his wife Sita did not respond and asked Surpanakha to approach Lakshmana who was unmarried. Surpanakha who felt humiliated by this, tried to attack Sita in anger saying Sita was the cause of the men’s contempt for her. Lakshmana then intervened and cut off Surpanakha’s nose…..Surpanakha terrified and in pain, flew at once to Lanka to seek the protection of Rāvana. …..When Rāvana asked his sister for the cause, Surpanakha said that she had seen Sita, a lady of incomparable beauty, and wanted to bring her for Rāvana. …..Ravana resolved to take revenge for the insult his sister has suffered, as well as to get lovely Sita for him self; and set out to abduct Sita and bring her to Lanka…..Ravana using a golden deer as a decoy visited Sita when she was alone in the guise of an old sage, abducted and brought her to Weragantota in Lanka in his plane, the Pushpaka Vimana…..Weragantota means the Place of Aircraft landing in Sinhala. This is the first place Sita Devi was brought to Lankapura (capita city of king Rāvana)……Sita Devi was kept at queen Mandothari’s palace at Lankapura. The place Sita was held captive is called Sita Kotuwa (also known as Seetha Kotuwa); which means Sita’s Fort in Sinhala. It is believed Rāvana had an aircraft repair centre at Gurulupotha close to Sita Kotuwa. Gurulupotha means Parts of Birds in Sinhala."….http://www.tourslanka.com/sri-lanka-map/ramayana-sites

"Ravana moved Sita from Sita Kotuwa to Ashok Vatika the salubrious garden in the mountains. The route too was said to be spectacularly beautiful, as Ravana wanted to show Sita the beauty of his kingdom…..Ashok Vatika is a garden where Rāvana held Sita captive….

"It is possible that the events of epic Ramayana could have occurred outside the confines of present day India. Ram’s father Dasarath lived in the heavenly city of Ayodhya on the banks of the river Saryu. This might have been a river called the Syr Darya that flows through present day Turkmenistan and Kyrghistan. It is located north of the Pamirs ( Meru) with a city called Andijan that is phonetically quite similar to Ayodhya, as the capital of the area. East of it is Kashi ( Kashgar) and west is Samarkand that was known as the Markanda in the Puranas ."…..Andijan is located in one of the hotbeds of Central Asia, which appeared early farming, formed the first samples of urban culture. In this territory were the ruins of an early city Dalvarzina (9th-7th centuries BC) and the ancient city of Èjlatona (6th-3rd centuries BC). To its geopolitical location Andijan served as a bridge between Bactria, Sogdiana, Chach with China (Xinjiang).

"The Ramayana has it that Dasrath, meaning a small ruler with just ten chariots, fell in love with his second wife Kaikeyi after she tended his wounds after a local battle. Kaikeya means that she was the daughter of the king of Kaikay, or Caucasus, like the name Gandhari of the Mahabharata had been derived from Gandhara ( Kandahar)…..

"The many Ramayanas: The story of Ram varies from Central Asia to Bali….The Ramayana is undoubtedly one of the greatest stories ever written and the film Star Wars I is actually a futuristic interpretation of this great tale. The most popular version of the epic is the account written by Valmiki, usually dated to about 300 BC but probably only put into writing after 400 AD. As most historians believe that the southern movement of the Aryas only began about 800 BC the events of the Ramayana must have occurred after this date or else the events of the myth must have occurred outside peninsular India…..There is no empirical historic evidence about the exact location in India of places like Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Dandakaranya, Lanka, Panchavati, Videha, Kosala, etc., that are an intrinsic part of the Indian legend….. It is also very paradoxical that although archaeological evidence has been found at every site named in the Mahabharat , there have been none to support any of the sites named in the Ramayana …..

"In the enumeration of the countries of north, Ramayana references Kambojas, Yavanas, Shakas, Paradas and then further northwards, it refers to the land of the Uttarakurus lying beyond river Shailoda and Kichaka bamboos valleys. It gives very vivid and graphic picture of Uttarakuru region."…..River Shailoda of Ramayana and of Mahabharata has been variously identified with river Khotan, Yarkand, and Syr (Jaxartes) by different scholars….Raghuvamsa also refers to the Kichaka bamboos of Central Asia in the eastern regions of the Pamirs or Meru mountains which were known as Dirghavenu in Sanskrit."…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttarakuru

"According to Jain tradition, Ram, as an evolved soul, was not capable of taking anyone’s life, even that of Ravana and it was his brother Lakshman who killed his enemies. As a result Lakshman goes to hell while Ram finds release ( Kaivalya )…..In Srilanka, the myth of the Ramayana is told in reverse with Ravana portrayed as the great hero and Ram as his evil, blue faced, invader from the North. There are many different versions of the great epic in Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand."

"Valmiki’s Ram was a very human hero but the later glorifications gave him the attributes of a god. Actually he was only raised to being an incarnation of Vishnu after the Ramachiritramanas written by Goswami Tulsidas ( 1534- 1623 AD)…..

Alexandria on the Caucasus.... In Classical times, the Hindu Kush were also designated as the "Caucasus" in parallel to their Western equivalent, the Caucasus Mountains between Europe and Asia

Amaterasu Omikami...Chogyam Trangpa visited Ise Grand Shrine in Japan, and told his followers about Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan. He said Shinto thought is similar to Shambhala and he decided to incorporate a Shinto shrine at RMDC.

Anahita...Sacred Water...Anahita is a Water Goddess, a Fertility Goddess, and a Protector of Women. She is sometimes depicted as riding a tiger (like Durga!) ...

Ancient China….In Jambudvipa there were six great countries where the true doctrine was propagated: India, Tibet, China, Khotan, Shambhala, and Kailash.

Ancient Historians….The early Greek historian Ctesias c. 400 BCE (followed by Diodorus Siculus) alleged that the legendary Assyrian king Ninus had defeated a Bactrian king named Oxyartes in ca. 2140 BC, or some 1000 years before the Trojan War.

Ancient Kashmir… the birth place of Garab Dorje not simply as 'Uddiyana' but as being close to Lake Kutra in the region of Dhanakosha; thus indicating present day North-eastern Kashmir

Ancient Scripts……. dakini script by Yeshe Tsogyal, which is not understandable to ordinary people.

Ancient Tibet…Around 1196 B.C., Zhutrul Yeshi, a great master from Tagzig established the Bon monastic system and propagated the practice of monastic discipline and philosophical study in the kingdoms of Zhang Zhung and Tibet

Bactra: Ancient Water System (2,000 BC)……The kareez are difficult, laborious and time consuming to build and maintain. However, without them normal life in the more arid regions of the Aryan lands and the later Persian empire, including Egypt, would have been untenable.

Asha, Rta & Natural Hierarchy…..In the Vedic religion, Ṛta (Sanskrit ऋतं ṛtaṃ "that which is properly joined; order, rule; truth") is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it.

Astrolatry…..There is a Tibetan proverb which says: "Even if you've got eyes to see other people, you need a mirror to see yourself!....For the ancients, the night sky was a cosmic mirror.

Avesta…..There are strong linguistic and cultural similarities between the texts of the Avesta and those of the Rigveda; the similarities are assumed to reflect the common beliefs of Proto-Indo-Iranian times, with the differences then assumed to reflect independent evolution that occurred after the split of the two cultures (c. 1500 BC).

Āditya Solar Dynasty (2200 BC)…..In the Rigveda, the Ādityas are the seven celestial deities, sons of Āditi, headed by Varuna, followed by Mitra (Vedic personification of Surya/Sun)..

'Sun Worship'….....only a relatively few cultures (Egyptian, Indo-European, and Meso-American) developed solar religions. All of these groups had in common a well-developed urban civilization with a strong ideology of sacred kingship.

96 Satraps of Shambhala…........ "satrap" originates ultimately (via Ancient Greek and Latin) from Old Persian xšaçapāvan ("protector of the province"), from xšaça ("realm" or "province") and pāvan ("protector").

Abaris the Skywalker, The Avars…..a legendary sage, healer, and priest of Apollo known to the Ancient Greeks. He was supposed to have learned his skills in his homeland of Hyperborea, near the Caucasus

Aikhanoum: Greco-Bactrian City (4th C. BC)… the historical Alexandria on the Oxus, also possibly later named اروکرتیه or Eucratidia), was founded in the 4th century BC, following the conquests of Alexander the Great and was one of the primary cities of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom.

Alexander Csoma & Historical Shambhala……He conjectured that this S'ambhala, very probably, was the capital of the Bactrian Empire of the Eastern Greeks who had embraced Buddhism. It is also conjectured that the modern city of Balkh must have been the site of their latest capital.

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Alexander The Great (Greece: 356-323 BC)… In 329, the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great arrived in Bactria, after a heroic crossing of the Hindu Kush.

Alexandra David-Neel & Historical Shambhala…associated Shambhala with Balkh in present day Afghanistan, also offering the Persian Sham-i-Bala, "elevated candle" as an etymology of its name

Anahita...Sacred Water…the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as Aredvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā); the Avestan language name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of 'the Waters' (Aban) introduced apparently in the 4th century BCE

Anau Seal…the Bactria-Margiana complex had also developed writing, and thus may indeed be considered a literate civilization. It bears five markings strikingly similar to Chinese "small seal" characters… the Anau seal is dated by context to 2,300 BCE.

Ancient Bactria Map…Bactria (from Βακτριανή, the Hellenized version of Old Persian Bāxtriš; Bactrian: Baktra; Persian/Pashto: باختر Bākhtar; Tajik: Бохтар; Chinese: 大夏 Dàxià; Sanskrit बाह्लीक Bahilka) is the ancient name of a historical region located south of the Amu Darya and west of Gandhara.

Ancient Bactria: Numismatic History…Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan…a narrative history of the obscure realm of the Bactrian Greeks who and their successful rebellion against the Seleucid rulers in about 260 BC

Ancient Cities & Kingdoms of Shambhala……Known as the Land of a Thousand Cities, the great cities each had a Calah (Castle, Kala) and a King.

Ancient Paropamisadae… the ancient Greek name for a region of the Hindu-Kush (Caucasus Indicus) in eastern Afghanistan, centered on the cities of Kabul and Kapisa (modern Bagram).

Ancient Seals, Symbols & Coinage of Shambhala… The Coins of the Greek and Scythic Kings of Bactria and India in the British Museum

Arab Conquest of Shambhala (642-870 AD)…870 A.D. marks the first time that the KINGDOM OF SHAMBHALA actually came under Moslem domination.

Aratta: The Mythical Seven Gated City….Aratta is the Sumerian homeland to the East…. a fabulously wealthy place full of gold, silver, lapis lazuli and other precious materials, as well as the artisans to craft them…...Afghanistan was the source of lapis for the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, as well as the later Greeks and Romans.

Archaeology of the Balkh Region….The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (or BMAC, also known as the Oxus civilization) is the modern archaeological designation for a Bronze Age civilisation of Central Asia, dated to ca. 2300–1700 BCE

Asaṅga, Vasubandhu & Shambhala…Asaṅga was born as the son of a Kṣatriya father and Brahmin mother in Puruṣapura (present day Peshawar in Pakistan), which at that time was part of the ancient kingdom of Gandhāra. Current scholarship places him in the fourth century CE.

Astrolatry… astro-theology is used in the context of 18th to 19th century scholarship aiming at the discovery of the original religion

Asura - Deva Conflict…According to the Bhagavata-Purana, as soon as the Amrita was produced, the devas took possession of it, and broke their promise to the asuras to give them half. As a consequence, the asuras then tried to steal it from the devas. A struggle ensued which the asuras lost and the devas consumed the nectar of immortality all by themselves.

Avesta… the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, and is composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta is seen as the Iranian counterpart to the Indo-Aryan Vedas… Younger Avestan is thought to date to the Achaemenid era (559–330 BC)

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Bactra-Zariaspa… Golden Horse

BARMAKIDS …. (752 AD)

BEYUL….

BMAC Culture…. (2300 BC)….The reasons that the cities of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex were suddenly abandoned are not known.

Bactria...The Photographs….

Bactria: Palace of the King….

Bala Hissar….

Bhojakas & Śākadvīpīyas….

Bon Tradition….

Bactria, Tagzig, Khorasan, Paktra, Zariaspa, Vahil…Greater Khorasan, a historic region which lies mainly in modern day Afghanistan, as well as in parts of Iran and Turkmenistan. It was previously known as Parthia; later, during the Sassanid era, it was changed to Khorasan.

Bactra (Balkh) in Bactria Map…The ancient city of Balkh was under the Greeks renamed Bactra, giving its name to Bactria. It was mostly known as the centre and capital of Bactria or Tokharistan. Balkh is now for the most part a mass of ruins, situated some 12 km from the right bank of the seasonally flowing Balkh River, at an elevation of about 365 m (1,200 ft).
Outside the town was a large Buddhist monastery, later known as Naubahar

Bactria: The Lalitavistara Sutra…The Lalitavistara Sutra (Sanskrit; traditional Chinese: 普曜經; pinyin: Pǔyào Jīng) is a Buddhist sutra of the Mahayana tradition that describes the life story of Gautama Buddha.

Bactrian Kshatriya Kings of Shambhala…The warrior and kingly class in the ancient class system of India was the Kshatriyas, second in the social hierarchy only behind the Brahmins. They shouldered the great burden of protecting and ruling.

Bactrian Kushan Kings (30 - 375 AD)..The Kushan Empire (Sanskrit: कुषाण राजवंश, Kuṣāṇ Rājavaṃśa; BHS: Guṣāṇa-vaṃśa; Parthian: Kušanxšaθr) was an empire in South Asia originally formed in the early 1st century CE under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria around the Oxus River (Amu Darya)

Badakhshan and the Wakhan Corridor… the Corridor was historically used as a trading route between Badakhshan and Yarkand. It appears that Marco Polo came this way.The Portuguese Jesuit priest Bento de Goes crossed from the Wakhan to China between 1602 and 1606. In May 1906 Sir Aurel Stein explored the Wakhan,

Balkh & Ancient Egypt (3150 BC)…Afghanistan was the source of lapis for the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, as well as the later Greeks and Romans.

Balkh & Sar-i Sang…Sar-i Sang is a settlement in the Kuran Wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, famous for its ancient lapis lazuli mines producing the world's finest lapis

Balkh Region in the Bronze Age…The Oxus civilization was a Bronze Age Central Asian culture dated to ca. 2300–1700 BC and centered on the upper Amu Darya (Oxus).

Banpo & The Cosmic City (4,800 BCE)…Banpo (Chinese: 半坡; pinyin: Bànpō) is an archaeological site discovered in 1953 and located in the Yellow River Valley just east of Xi'an, China. It contains the remains of several well organized Neolithic settlements dating from 5600 - 6700

Bards & Poetic Oral History…There is now considerable evidence to suggest that Celtic and European cultures share a common origin with cultures which emerged in India thousands of years ago, and which gave birth to the ‘Dharmic religions’ of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.

Basic Goodness...In Bon Dzogchen it is stated that all of reality is pervaded by a transcendent principle called "All Good". It has a male aspect called Kuntu Sangpo and a female aspect, Kungtu Sangmo, and is a "universal reality of dynamic potentiality"

Baudhayana Srauta Sutra…Baudhāyana, (fl. c. 800 BCE) was the author of the Baudhayana sūtras, which cover dharma, daily ritual, Vedic sacrifices, etc. He belongs to the Yajurveda school, and is older than the other sūtra author Āpastambha.
He was the author of the earliest Sulba Sūtra—appendices to the Vedas giving rules for the construction of altars—called the Baudhāyana Śulbasûtra. These are notable from the point of view of mathematics, for containing several important mathematical results, including giving a value of pi to some degree of precision.

Bhojakas & Śākadvīpīyas…Śākadvīpīya Brahmans or Bhojaka Brahmans, is a class of Hindu priests and Ayurveda teachers (acharyas) and practitioners, with significant concentrations of their populations occurring in Western and Northern India.

Bhutan: Bon-Buddhist Synchronism…Before the introduction of Buddhism in Bhutan, Bön religion was prevalent in Bhutan. Some scholars hold that Bön doctrine became so strongly reinvigorated in Bhutan by Buddhism that by the eleventh century it reasserted itself as an independent school. Bön continues to be practiced in modern Bhutan.

Bodhidharma (5th/6th century CE)….Broughton notes that Bodhidharma was a Persian from Central Asia…investigates the relationships between Mithraism, Persian culture, Zen and Mahayana Buddhism

Bon Tradition…Olmo Lung-ring was also known as Shambhala in Sanskrit and it continues to be known by this name among Tibetan Buddhists even today. Moreover, it is said that in ancient times it encompassed fully one-third of the known world a statement which could apply to the historical Persian empire.

Buddhism Before Sakyamuni…The Seven Buddhas before Shakyamuni Buddha

Byung rTsis & the Eight Parkha…The eight Parkha trigrams of the Chinese I Ching are also used in Byung-rtsis…four seasons and four cardinals….The name "Parkha" comes from the Chinese and means number eight.

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Calah….

Ceremonial Dance….

Chitral & Oḍḍiyāna…. Uddiyana ... present day North-eastern Kashmir (now Pakistan) - a region right in the middle between Chitral, Gilgit and Swat.

Canyon de Chelly & Kokyangwuti…Spider Woman. She was first to weave her web of the universe and taught Din'eh (Navajo) to create beauty in their own life and spread the "Beauty Way" teaching of balance within the mind, body, & soul.

Cave Art & Petroglyphs….The Pamirs, with more than 50 sites, is the richest area for rock drawings in Tajikistan.

Celtic Druids & Persian Magi… in the ancient world the Druids, the "magi of the North"......a good number of early Celtic beliefs seem to have similarities with early Indian Vedic culture and beliefs. This is most likely because of their common Indo-European heritage

Central Asia: Enlightened Monarchy…Voltaire, the prominent Enlightenment philosopher who felt enlightened monarchy was the only real way for society to advance, and by Mozart's The Magic Flute, whose libretto was written by Emanuel Schikaneder, which can be regarded as an allegory advocating enlightened absolutism.

Ceremonies & Ancient Rituals…..

Chakravartin & Universal Monarch…The cakravartin in Buddhism came to be considered the secular counterpart of a Buddha.

Chandragupta (Maurya: 340-298 BC)…Chandragupta succeeded in conquering and subjugating almost all of the Indian subcontinent by the end of his reign. His empire extended from Bengal and Assam in the east, to Afghanistan and Balochistan, eastern and south-east Iran in the west, to Kashmir in the north, and to the Deccan Plateau in the south.

Chang Shambhala & Xembhala ……Chang Shambhala, northern Shambhala, the name Hindus use to distinguish it from an Indian town of the same name.

Cherchen Man & Uighur Tarim Tocharians…. He stood about six feet tall, had light hair and fair skin, and he lived about 3,000 years ago in what is today the Xinjiang region of western China. He sports facial tattoos. And the world’s oldest surviving pair of pants...He’s among a group of mummies found in the Tarim Basin dating from between about 1900 B.C. and 200 A.D.

Cintamani..Wish Fulfilling Gem…Cintāmaṇi (Sanskrit; Devanagari: चिन्तामणि) also spelled as Chintamani (or the Chintamani Stone) is a wish-fulfilling jewel within both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, equivalent to the philosopher's stone (Paras Pathar) in Western alchemy

Circumambulation ….Circumambulation of temples or deity images is an integral part of Hindu, Bon and Buddhist devotional practice (known in Sanskrit as pradakśiṇā)

Confucius & Shambhala…Confucius (551–479 BC) was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history

Cosmic Mirror & Cosmic Egg….The original state likened to a primordial or cosmic mirror. ... In the realm of the cosmic mirror, your mind extends its vision completely

Cosmic Ocean…a mythological motif found in the Creation myth of many cultures and civilizations. The cosmic ocean is often the entire universe in a dim and nonspecific past, and the first source of gods or the world. The cosmic ocean is also often still surrounding the present world.

Cuneiform, Writing, Sumeria...3500 BC….Emerging in Sumer in the late 4th millennium BC (the Uruk IV period), cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs.

Cyrus The Great (580-529 BC)…Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen. His regal titles in full were The Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Corners of the World.

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Denkart….

Dzogchen Traditions….

DAKINIS: Sky Dancers…(Sanskrit: डाकिनी ḍākinī, Pali ḍāginī, Mongolian: дагина), derived from a figure of medieval Hindu legend (Bhagavata Purana, Brahma Purana, Markandeya Purana, Kathasaritsagara), a female imp in the train of Kali who feeds on human flesh (her masculine counterpart being called ḍāka ). They are comparable to malevolent or vengeful female spirits, deities, imps or fairies in other cultures, such as the Persian peri.

Dadar, mDa' dar, Dadhar, Arrow….The Dadar (Tibetan; Wylie: mda' dar), or arrow often though not always dressed with rainbow ribbon is a teaching tool, ritual instrument symbol for Nyingmapa and Bonpo Dzogchenpa and is a particular attribute for Mandarava and Saraha.

Dankanoshka Lake and Padmakara…the lake called "Ocean of Milk" in South West Odiyana, which is also known as Lake Danakosha located on the Afganistan-Pakistan frontier.

Dark Retreat & Ratriyoga Practice…Dark retreat (Wylie: mun mtshams) refers to advanced practices in the Taoism, Dzogchen lineages of the Nyingmapa, Bönpo, other schools of Tibetan Buddhism. A dark retreat is a solo retreat in a space that is completely absent of light. Because there is no optical stimulation, one can experience "prisoner's cinema", commonly known as 'the lights'.

Dashly Archaeological Sites (c. 2500-1700 BCE)…DAŠLĪ (Dashly), oasis situated south of the Āmū Daryā (q.v.), on the desert plain of northern Afghanistan, ancient Bactria….forty-one archeological sites, representing occupations from the Bronze Age to the Kushan period, have been found distributed over an area 100 km….the two principal Bronze Age sites are Dashly 1 and Dashly 3….Dashly 1 consists of the remains of a square citadel overlooking a “lower town.”

Divine Triad of Syrian Gods…. In its pantheon, external gods mingled with native deities. It was in this context that the triad of Ba'alshamin, Aglibol, and Malakbel developed during the first half of the first century AD.

Dorje Lingpa (1346- 1405)….Dorje Lingpa considered himself an incarnation of Vairocana, the eighth century Tibetan adept who is considered to have concealed both Buddhist and Bon treasures and figures prominently in the Dzogchen lineage of both traditions.

Dorje Lingpa: Gold Needle Terma: Serthur….Kubum was the place where Dorje Lingpa spent some time when he was in Bhutan…one of the principal reasons for visiting Paro was to reveal some hidden manuscripts in one of the caves of Tagtshang. The “Gold Needle” is the main work of the
manuscript collection. It contains a remarkably original exposition of the Dzogchen doctrine, which he claims to be in accordance with the Bon tradition.

Dream Yoga... MILAM….. (T:rmi-lam or nyilam; S:svapnadarśana) — the Yoga of the Dream State are a suite of advanced tantric sadhana of the entwined Mantrayana lineages of Dzogchen (Nyingmapa, Ngagpa, Mahasiddha, Kagyu and Bönpo). Dream Yoga are tantric processes and techniques within the trance Bardos of Dream and Sleep (Tibetan: mi-lam bardo) and are advanced practices similar to Yoga Nidra.

Dream/Reality: Sufism,Taoism, Dzogchen….Sufism is about awakening to reality NOW vs. the hereafter. The focus is on the experience through ‘tasting’ the Divine reality.

Druchen Gyalwa Yungdrung (1242-1290)… the Druchen Gyalwa Yungdrung and the Sevenfold Cycle of the Clear Light….This work contains translations from the Bonpo Dzogchen practice manual for the Zhang Zhung Nyangyud, known as the Gyalwa Chaktri of Druchen Yungdrung, and from the Odsal Dunkor, the Sevenfold Cycle of the Clear Light, being the dark retreat practice from the same tradition

Dunhuang Caves…Large number of documents dating from 406 to 1002 CE were found in the cave, heaped up in closely packed layers of bundles of scrolls. The Library Cave also contained textiles such as banners, numerous damaged figurines of Buddhas, and other Buddhist paraphernalia.

Dzi & Ziji…To Tibetans and other Himalayan people, the dZi is a "precious jewel of supernatural orign" with great power to protect its wearer

Dzogchen…Tonpa Shenrab is said to have taught Bon in three successive cycles of teachings. First he taught the “Nine Ways of Bon”; then he taught the “Four Bon Portals and the Fifth, the Treasury”; and finally he revealed the “Outer, Inner and Secret Precepts.” In the final cycle of teachings the outer cycle is the path of renunciation, or sutric teachings; the inner cycle is the path of transformation, or tantric teachings; and the secret cycle is the path of self-liberation, or dzogchen teachings.

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Emperor Asoka & Ahimsa (256 BC)

Eastern Satraps After Alexander

ECBATANA….

Enlightenment….

Earth Mudra ... Bhumisparsha...Sthāvara….Siddhartha reached out his right hand to touch the earth, and the earth itself roared, "I bear you witness!" Mara disappeared. And as the morning star rose in the sky, Siddhartha Gautama realized enlightenment and became a Buddha.

Early Buddhism in Balkh…..Trapusa and Bahalika (alternatively Bhallika) from Balkh in Afghanistan, are attributed to be the first two lay disciples of the Buddha

Early Chinese Accounts of Shambhala…Chinese: 香巴拉; pinyin: xiāngbālā….. a 'mythical' kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia. It is mentioned in various ancient texts, including the Kalachakra Tantra and the ancient texts of the Zhang Zhung culture which predated Tibetan Buddhism in western Tibet

Early Shambhala Researchers…..Nikolai Roerich thought that the land of Mu was the sacred land of Shambhala where the Aryan god Phoebus (Sun in Greek).

Eastern Bactria, Gilgit, Chitral…Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was spread from South Asia to the rest of Asia. The Dards and Shinas appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned in Ptolemy's accounts of the region.

Eflatun Pinar, Sacred Hittite Spring (13th C. BCE)… In ancient times a small temple was built here to honor one of the ancient Hittite gods

Elamite Ziggurat ... Chogha Zanbil…Chogha Zanbil (Persian: چغازنبيل‎); Elamite: Dur Untash) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. Chogha in Bakhtiari means hill. It is one of the few existent ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia.

Esoteric, Exoteric, Secret, Sacred and Profane….many societies have no words that translate as sacred or profane and that ultimately, just like the distinction between natural and supernatural, it was very much a product of European religious thought.

Eurasia Maps... 1200 BC and 500 BC…The division between Europe and Asia as two different continents is a historical and cultural construct, with no clear physical separation between them; thus, in some parts of the world, Eurasia is considered the largest of five or six continents.

Extreme Weather Events of 535–536 AD…..the most severe and protracted short-term episodes of cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years. The event is thought to have been caused by an extensive atmospheric dust veil, possibly resulting from a large volcanic eruption in the tropics, or debris from space impacting the Earth. Its effects were widespread, causing unseasonal weather, crop failures, and famines worldwide.

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Fondukistan, Bamiyan, Surkh Kotal….an ancient archaeological site located in the southern part of the region of Bactria

Fourth Buddhist Council….

Father of Ge-sar: Tegin Shah (680 AD)…"Khorasan Tegin Shah" (= Tegin, King of the East), known in Chinese sources as Wusan teqin sa, was the second Turk Shahi on the throne of Kabul, succeeding his father Barha Tegin around or after 680 CE.

Feminine Deities & Shambhala…Prajapati, Buddha's step-mother/aunt, walked over a hundred miles to request permission -- even, insist -- on the right of women to become monastics. After she was ordained, she attained the awakened state and Nirvana along with many of the nuns.

Fifteen Stages of A-Khrid Meditation in Bon Dzogchen…"All of a sudden one says Phat! as mentioned in the Lung and does an intense comtemplation os 'self-eradication of attachment'. This is done to such an extent that a shudder of fear runs through the skin."

Fire Puja… a puja brings to us positive energies while simultaneously dissolving the ill effects of our negative actions.Pujas are typically directed towards different deity forms in order to invoke the attributes of that deity…Pujas involve Sanskrit mantra chanting along with offerings of flowers, fruit, rice, sweets, incense, milk, honey, water and other substances…..uja also includes a fire ceremony called a “homa.”

Five Elements Practices….In Bon, the five elemental processes of earth, water, fire, air and space are the essential elements of all existent phenomena or skandhas (aggregates) the most subtle enumeration of which are known as the five pure lights.

Five Pure Lights ('od lnga) & Dzogchen….From the five elements arise the five senses and the five fields of sensual experience; the five negative emotions and the five wisdoms; and the five extensions of the body. They are the five primary pranas or vital energies. They are the constituents of every physical, sensual, mental, and spiritual phenomenon.

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Gandhāra…. (100 AD)

Garden of Eden….

Great Wall of China….Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC

Gurdjieff & Demiurgic Intelligences….

Ganas, Gi-kod, Thorse and Werma of Kailash…the werma is an important class of Bon deities. The werma are the angry, ferocious and fearless ones, the dgra lha of the arrows and lances. Two main groups of werma, one of 180 and the other of 360 members.

Gandharan Greco - Buddhist Art…. in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan…the Kingdom of Gandhara lasted from the early 1st millennium BC to the 11th century AD. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Kushan Kings

Gandharvas & The Prajnaparamita…the gandharvas (Sanskrit: गन्धर्व, gandharva, Kannada: ಗಂಧರ್ವ, Tamil:கந்தர்வர், Telugu:గంధర్వ) are male nature spirits, husbands of the Apsaras. Some are part animal, usually a bird or horse. They have superb musical skills. They guarded the Soma and made beautiful music for the gods in their palaces. Gandharvas are frequently depicted as a singer in the court of Gods.

Garab Dorje (7th - 8th Century AD)….In the Land of Uddiyana, on the island Dhanakosha, was a great temple called the Blissful Tower, Deje Tsekpa, surrounded by 6800 shrines. In this tower lived King Upa Raja and his consort Queen Radiance. Their daughter, Sudharma dreamed that an immaculate white man came to her holding a crystal vessel sealed with the mantra OM AH HUNG SVAHA, and he placed it on her head three times and light shone out from it and she perceived the threefold world clearly in its totality. Soon after the Bhiksuni Sudharma gave birth to a son…the king called him Acharya Garab Dorje

Garsha: The Lahoul Valley...a valley called Lahoul, Garsha in the Tibetan texts…it is the place where the heart essence of wisdom, known as the feminine principle is nourished and respected. Compassionate Action flows unceasingly from this source. Literally translated from the Tibetan, this is a ‘land of the blissful dakinis’.

Garuda, Khyung… the khyung or horned eagle….solid archaeological evidence supporting Bon textual accounts of the antiquity of this noble figure... the findings of the Upper Tibet Rock Art Expedition

Gautama Buddha: The Fire Sermon…..The Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Pali, "Fire Sermon Discourse"), sometimes referred to simply as the Āditta Sutta , is a discourse from the Pali Canon, popularly known as the Fire Sermon

Golden Drink, Haoma/Soma Rituals…Sacred haoma has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedic soma.

Great Eastern Sun: Sharchen Nyima…When you discover the sun in the sky, you begin to communicate with it. Your eyes begin to relate with the light of the sun.

Great Khorasan Road & The Silk Route…a Sumerian settlement first inhabited c. 5000 BCE which comprised a village and a fortress. It became an important stop along the Great Khorasan Road trade route, better known as the Silk Road, which was the major avenue for trade for close to 3000 years

Greco-Bactrian Region: Buddhist Era Kings… the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 to 125 BC. The expansion of the Greco-Bactrians into northern India from 180 BC established the Indo-Greek Kingdom, which was to last until around AD 10.

Greek Buddhism & Shambhala (200 BC)…Ancient Greek Buddhism is highlighted by two main points: the sculptural depiction of the Buddha and the textual report on King Menandros’ becoming a Buddhist adept. The 304 questions to King Menandros (reign: ca. 155-130 BCE), is a dialogue between the Greek sovereign of Hellenized Asia and the Venerable Nagasena. This resulted in the ruler’s acceptance of the Dharma as a lay disciple who subsequently had Buddhism disseminated throughout Indo-Greece.

Gurdjieff and Balkh…: “All roads lead to Balkh.” ...the esoteric capital of the world. It is claimed that there are – or were – initiatic brotherhoods based in the city with lineages going back deep into ancient times before the Greeks, Persians, Indians, Arabs, Turks and others, adapting to the coming and going of changing empires. The Sufis will often say that Sufism came before Islam and will be Sufism after Islam too. This is the spirit of Balkh, an enduring ancient legacy fed by diverse streams of influence over the last 2500+ years at least.

Hephthalites & Bactria(500 AD)….Balkh came under Hepthalites or Huns by the of 4th Century A.D.... followed a religion akin to Zorastrianism and worshipped fire and Sun. Subsequently, Hun Kings became followers of Buddhism...."

Hermeneutics & Translators….

Hvare khshaeta….

HOZHO: Dine’ Concept of Balance and Beauty…Ho′zho′: The Navajo Concept of Balance and Beauty…..Consideration of the nature of the universe, the world, man, the nature of time and space, creation, growth, motion, order, control, and the life cycle…..expressed in terms quite impossible to translate into English.

Haplogroup Q-M242 & Indigenous America….Haplogroup Q-M242 is believed to have arisen in North Asia approximately 17,000 to 22,000 years ago…Q-M242 came to dominate the paternal lineages in the Americas….haplogroup Q-M242 has been found in approximately 94% of Indigenous peoples of South America and detected in Na-Dené speakers at a rate of 25-50%, and North American Eskimo–Aleut populations at about 46%

Heirophants, Tantric Masters & Buddhist Patriarchs…A hierophant is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy. The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, "the holy," and phainein, "to show." In Attica it was the title of the chief priest at the Eleusinian Mysteries

Historical Shakyamuni Buddha…The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain: most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE, but more recent opinion dates his death to between 486 and 483 BCE or, according to some, between 411 and 400 BCE

Historical Shambhala & Silk Route Adobe…The word adobe has existed for around 4,000 years, with relatively little change in either pronunciation or meaning. The word can be traced from the Middle Egyptian (c. 2000 BC) word dj-b-t "mud [i.e., sun-dried] brick."

Historical Timetable… 1st C AD - Present

Historical Timetable....20,000 BC - 800 BC

Historical Timetable...5000 BC - 100 AD

Horse & Shambhala Dignities….the most popular of the Bactrian animals is the Bactrian horse. This animal played a partial role in the reputation of Bactrian cavalry in the ancient world.

Hui Chao: Bactrian Pilgrimage (726 AD)…Buddhist monk from Silla, one of the three Korean kingdoms of the period….On the advice of his Indian teachers in China, he set out for India in 723 CE to acquaint himself with the language and culture of the land of the Buddha.

Human Feminine & Shambhala…There was a beautiful young Afghan girl in Balkh named Roxanne. Her father was the King of Balkh. Alexander the Great conquered Balkh in 329 BC

Hvarena, Khvarnah & Fravashi….The awesome divine luster, Hvarena, was generated by the great god Ahura Mazda and it became manifest in the great Yima Vaivanghant, who then lost a third of it as his decline began. This lost Hvarena departed in the form of the Varaghna bird and was taken up by the god Mithra.

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Ilm-e-Khshnoom & Esoteric Zoroastrianism…Ilm-e-Khshnoom is a school of Zoroastrian philosophy, practiced by a very small minority of the Indian Zoroastrians (Parsis/Iranis), based on a mystic and esoteric, rather than literal, interpretation of religious texts.

Inanna, Anahiti & Legendary Aratta…Inanna is the most important goddess of the Sumerian pantheon in ancient Mesopotamia. She is a goddess of love, fertility, and war…a daughter of the sky-god An, but also of the moon-god Nanna. A variation of her name is Ninnanna, which means 'queen of the sky'. She is also called Ninsianna as the personification of the planet Venus. The Akkadians called her Ishtar.

Indrabhuti of Oddiyana, King Dza…….Indrabhuti: the Enlightened Siddha King….the land of Oddiyana was divided into two kingdoms. The kingdom of Lankapuri was Brahmin and ruled by king Jalendra and the kingdom of Sambhola was Buddhist and ruled by king Indrabhuti.

Iranian Buddhism….Buddhism in Iran may date as far back as the 5th or 6th century BCE, during the life of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni. A Pali legend suggests that the spread of Buddhism to Balkh was initiated by two merchant brothers from Bactria (present-day Afghanistan)….At the time of the Arab conquests in the mid-7th century, much of the eastern Iranian world was mainly Buddhist. Afghanistan is rich in Buddhist sites.

Iron Age in Central Asia…The Iron Age as an archaeological term indicates the condition as to civilization and culture of a people using iron as the material for their cutting tools and weapons….The Iron Age in Central Asia began when iron objects appear among the Indo-European Saka in present-day Xinjiang between the 10th century BC and the 7th century BC.

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Jainism & Rishabha…Since 4th or 3rd century BCE, Rishabha is widely worshiped as the founder and the first tirthankara of Jainism.

Jambhala & Kubera: Gods of Wealth…Kubera (Sanskrit: कुबेर, Pali/later Sanskrit: Kuvera) also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North (Dik-pala)….Kubera once ruled Lanka, but was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, later settling in the city of Alaka in the Himalayas….In Buddhism, he is known as Vaisravana, the patronymic used of the Hindu Kubera and is also equated with Pañcika, while in Jainism, he is known as Sarvanubhuti.

Japanese Shamanism & Solar Kingship…The Central Asian Origin of Japan’s Solar Kingship….we describe many of the ancient features of Japanese kingship, with the intent to identify a specific origin for Japan’s early imperial institution in Central Asia. We begin with an outline of the elements of divine kingship in the ancient Near East.

Japanese Shinto…Shinto ("the way of the Kami") is the name of the formal state religion of Japan that was first used in the 6th century C.E., although the roots of the religion go back to at least the 6th century B.C.E.

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KABALAH….

KERESANI….

Kapisa….

Khorasan ('Sun Rises')….

Khyunglung Ngülkhar….

Kingdom of Khotan…. the foundation of Khotan occurred when Kushtana, said to be a son of Asoka, the Mauryan emperor, settled there about 224 BCE.

KHYUNGPO NALJOR (978-1172 AD)…."the Yogin of the Garuda clan."…978-1127…by the age of ten he excelled in reading, writing, arithmetic and both Chinese and Indian astrology. At twelve, in accordance with the tradition on his father's side of the family, he studied the Bon teachings. Later on he practiced Dzogchen and Mahamudra.

Kalachakra & Suryaratha…Rishis (seers) led by the sage Suryaratha ("sun chariot”)….as the first Kulika king, Manjushrikirti, preached the Kalachakra Tantra to his subjects, Suryaratha distanced himself from it, and his followers, the Rishis, joined him.

Kalachakra: 9th Century BC…The Kalachakra tantra puts the life of Shakyamuni Buddha in the 9th. Century BCE, instead of the more commonly accepted 6th. Century BCE.

Kalachakra Deities….The Kālachakra refers to many different traditions, for example the Hindu; Saivite, Samkya, Vaishnava, the Vedas, Upanisads and Puranas traditions, but also Jainism. For example, the Kālachakra mandala includes deities which are equally accepted by Hindus, Jainas and Buddhists

Kalachakra Military Verses…The graphic description of the war machines to which the Kalachakra deity devotes a number of pages already in the first chapter of the tantra is downright impressive and astonishing... A total of seven exceptionally destructive arts of weapon are introduced.

Kalachakra Symbolism & Shambhala…Kalachakra, meaning cycles of time, has many different levels of symbolism

Kalachakra: Oddiyana & Shambala…Oddiyana and Kashmir at this time had Hindu and Buddhist populations under Hindu rulers, as did Shambhala.

Kalapa Description…Kalapa, according to Buddhist legend, is the capital city of the Kingdom of Shambhala, where the Kulika King is said to reign on a lion throne. It is said to have been an exceeding beautiful city

Kalash & Shambhala…The Kalasha (Kalasha: Kaĺaśa, Nuristani: Kasivo) or Kalash, are a Dardic indigenous people residing in the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the Kalasha language, from the Dardic family of the Indo-Aryan branch, and are considered a unique tribe among the Indo-Aryan peoples of Pakistan…. The Kalash of Chitral have maintained their own separate cultural traditions.

Kalkin Kings of Shambhala…In Hinduism, Kalki (Devanagari: कल्कि; meaning 'Eternity,' 'White Horse,' or 'Destroyer of Filth') is the final incarnation of Vishnu in the current Mahayuga, foretold to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, the current epoch...the Puranas foretell that Kalki will be atop a white horse….In Buddhist Kalachakra tradition, 25 rulers of the Shambhala Kingdom held the title of Kalki, Kulika or Kalki-king

Kashmir Shaivism & Shambhala Tantra… a group of several monistic and tantric religious traditions that flourished in Kashmir from the latter centuries of the first millennium C.E. through the early centuries of the second.

Kashmir Smast & The Mardan Valley…The Kashmir Smast caves, also called Kashmir Smats, are a series of natural limestone caves, artificially expanded from the Kushan to the Shahi periods, situated in the Babozai and Pirsai mountains in the Mardan Valley in Northern Pakistan. According to recent scholarship based on a rare series of bronze coins and artifacts found in the region, the caves and their adjacent valley probably comprised a sovereign kingdom in Gandhara which maintained at least partial independence for almost 500 years, from c. 4th century AD to the 9th century AD.

Keyumars....Gayomart....King Gar-shāh….Gayōmart Gar-shāh (King of the Mountains) was the first human Uhrmazd created.

Kham & Uyghur Qinghai….Linguists and anthropologists refer to Kham as the 'Ethnic Corridor of Southwest China' inhabited by over 14 culturally and linguistically distinct ethnic groups. For reasons of simplicity, the Chinese government combines the various ethnic groups of Kham together with the Tibetans to form one big nationality, called the "Tibetan Nationality". There are, however, significant differences in traditions and beliefs—even physical appearance—between the peoples of Kham and Lhasa. At least one-third of Kham residents are speakers of Qiangic languages…The people of Kham are reputed warriors.

Khezr, Khidr….Khidr or al-Khidr (Arabic: الخضر‎ al-Khiḍr, also transcribed as Khidr, Khizr, Khyzer, Qhizyer, Qhezar, Khizar, Xızır, Hızır)… In medieval Islamic tradition, Khidr is variously described as a messenger or a prophet. Sufis had different opinions about his position that he was a prophet or wali. Actually he syncretized with various figures and so he has gained many new features in time; in India with Vishnu,in Iran with Sorūsh (Avesta Sraosha) and Mithra, in historical Armenia with Saint Sarkis (Saint Sergius) and John the Baptist, in Asia Minor and Levant with Saint George etc.

Khwājagān Tradition…a Persian title for "the Master". Khwajagan is a word often used to refer to a chain of Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi Masters from the 10th to the 16th century. In Firdowsi's Shahnama the word is used many times for some rulers and heroes of ancient Iran

Ki So Cha'o: Phywa…Ki Ki so so Lha Gyal Lo ….. Meaning “Victory to the Gods”.

King Ashoka (Maurya: 324-187 BCE)…Ashoka's capital was in Pataliputra, from which he controlled northern India and 14 other states, extending to Bactria, in the west, and southern India to the Krishna River.

King Diodotus of Bactria & Emperor Ashoka….Diodotus, the governor of the thousand cities of Bactria….the new kingdom, highly urbanized and considered as one of the richest of the Orient (opulentissimum illud mille urbium Bactrianum imperium "The extremely prosperous empire of the thousand cities of Bactria

King Gesar...Phrom and Uighur Hor gling…The Epic of King Gesar (Tibetan: གེ་སར་རྒྱལ་པོ, Ge-sar rGyal-po, "King Gesar"; Geser Khan, "King Geser"), also spelled Geser (especially in Mongolian contexts) or Kesar (/ˈkɛzər/ or /ˈkɛsər/), is an epic cycle that relates the heroic deeds of the culture hero Gesar, the fearless lord of the legendary kingdom of Ling … It is recorded variously in poetry and prose and is sung widely throughout Central Asia.

King Kanishka (Kushan dynasty 127-151 AD)….the greatest king of the Kushana dynasty.
The Kushana were a nomadic tribe who had split from the Yueh-chi tribes and established themselves in Bactria...Although he honoured the Zoroastrian, Greek and Brahmanic deities, Kanishka is mostly remembered for convening the fourth great Buddhist council in Kashmir, which marked the beginning of pantheistic Mahayana Buddhism.

King Menander (Bactria: 165- 130 BC)…Menander I Soter "The Saviour" (known as Milinda in Indian Pali sources) was the Indo-Greek king (165/[2]/155[2] BC-130 BC) who established a large empire in the South Asia and became a patron of Buddhism. Menander was born in the Caucasus Asia, and was initially a king of Bactria.

King Vishtaspa of Balkh (900 BC?)…(Vištāspa) is the Avestan-language name of a figure of Zoroastrian scripture and tradition, portrayed as an early follower of Zoroaster, and his patron, and instrumental in the diffusion of the prophet's message.

Kingdom of Balkh: 2500 BC… The period between 26th and 20th century BC was the most important period in the history of Balkh;

Kingdom of Guge…Guge was an ancient kingdom in Western Tibet. The kingdom was centered in present-day Zanda County, within Ngari Prefecture of Tibet. At various points in history after 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast area including south-eastern Zanskar, Upper Kinnaur, and Spiti valley either by conquest or as tributaries. The ruins of the former capital of Guge kingdom are located at Tsaparang in the Sutlej valley, not far from Mount Kailash

Kingdom of Qocho….The Kingdom of Qocho, also called the Idiqut state ("Holy Wealth, Glory"), was an Uyghur state created during AD 856–866, based in the cities of Qocho (also called Kara-Khoja) near Turpan….The kingdom was a Buddhist state, with state-sponsored Buddhism and Manichaeism, and it can be considered the center of Uyghur culture.

Kunzang Akor: Shenlha Okar…The Bonpo Deity Kunzang Akor: the All-good 'A' Circle is a meditational form of Shenlha Okar. He is generally recognized by the Tibetan letter 'A' placed on the chest at the level of the heart. The two hands generally rest in the lap and hold the stems of two flower blossoms supporting a yungdrung (svastika) on the right and a vase on the left. There are numerous traditions of ritual cycles and meditation practices for Kunzang Akor

Kālá...Time…means "a fixed or right point of time, a space of time, time ... destiny, fate ... death" and has a feminine form (found at the end of compounds) ending in ā, as mentioned in the ṛgveda Prātiśākhya.

Kāśyapa Buddha… Kassapa (Pāli) is the name of a Buddha, the third of the five Buddhas of the present kalpa (the Bhaddakappa or 'Fortunate Aeon'), and the sixth of the six Buddhas prior to the historical Buddha mentioned in the earlier parts of the Pali Canon (D.ii.7). In the Buddhist texts in Sanskrit, this Buddha is known as Kāśyapa.

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Lady Pu-abi (Sumeria...2600 BC)…. Pu-abi may have been a high priestess in the service of the moon god, Nanna, patron of Ur. The seal is made from lapis lazuli, which would have come from Afghanistan

Lakshminkara Mahasiddha, Oḍḍiyāna…Lakshminkara: the Crazy Princess… the sister of the great king Indrabhuti who ruled over the kingdom of Sambala in the land of Oddiyana. She was wise and through listening to the teachings of Lawapa, she became well versed in many tantras. When she was of age, her brother arranged to marry her off to prince Jalandhara, a son of the King of Lankapuri.

Lamed Thegpa ...Great Perfection Dzogchen….The Ninth Way of Bon…. (bLa-med theg-pa), the Unsurpassed Way, is concerned with the highest attainment through the path of Great Perfection (i.e., rDzogs-chen).

Land of the Dakinis…. Uddiyana remains the legendary Land of the Dakinis, that is, a land of exceptionally beautiful and independent women.

Languages & Linguistics….Among Indo-Iranian languages, the use of the Greek script is unique to Bactrian.

Lapis Lazuli Trade Route (4000 BC)…Lapis lazuli was being mined in the Sar-i Sang mines and in other mines in the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan as early as the 7th millennium BC

Lhak-thong...The Fourth Moment…The fourth moment is not a far-out or extraordinary experience as such. It is a state of experience that doesn’t even belong to now.

Longchenpa's Radical Dzogchen….Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, is Tibet's principal tradition of gnostic mysticism, commensurate to the Chinese Taoism of Lao Tsu and the Indian Advaita Vedanta of Shankaracharya and Ramana Maharshi.

Land of Uttarakuru….

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Magi of Ancient Persia…. Greek magos itself is derived from Old Persian maguŝ from the Avestan magâunô

Mahayana….

Materialism….

Mongol Destruction of Balkh (1200 AD)

Music….

Musk Route of Tibet…. (8th C. AD)

Maitreya, Mithra & The Saoshyant

Manichaeism & Tibetan Bon

Mother and Child Luminosities

Magi of Tagzig Persia….Bon religion came from the fabled land of Olmo-lungring (‘Ol-mo lung-ring) on the eastern edge of Tagzig (sTag-gzig)….Some modern Russian scholars, basing themselves on linguistic analysis, identify Olmo-lungring with Elam in ancient western Iran and Tagzig with Tajik, referring to Bactria.

Magic, The Magus & Magi of Central Asia…Magi (Latin plural of magus; Greek: μάγος magos; Old Persian: maguš, Persian: مُغ‎ mogh; English singular magian, mage, magus, magusian, magusaean; Kurdish: manji) is a term, used since at least the 6th century BC, to denote followers of Mazdaism or Zoroaster. The earliest known usage of the word Magi is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription.

Mahasiddha Tilopa & Uddiyana…Tilopa received the transmissions of Dzogchen in Oddiyana

Mahasiddha Traditions… ( Sanskrit: “great perfect one”) Tibetan Grub-thob Chen, in the Tantric, or esoteric, traditions of India and Tibet, a person who, by the practice of meditative disciplines, has attained siddha (miraculous powers); a great magician…..Both the Shaivites (followers of Shiva) of Hindu India and the Tantric Buddhists of Tibet preserve legends of 84 mahasiddhas who flourished up to the 11th century.

Mahayana in Central Asia….The Fourth Buddhist Council is said to have been convened by the Kushan emperor Kanishka (r. 127-151 CE), in Kashmir….. reports of this council can be found in scriptures which were kept in the Mahayana tradition.

Materialism…Lokāyata and Cārvāka have historically been used to denote the philosophical school of Indian Materialism. Literally, “Lokāyata” means philosophy of the people. The term was first used by the ancient Buddhists until around 500 B.C.E. to refer to both a common tribal philosophical view and a sort of this-worldly philosophy or nature lore. The term has evolved to signify a school of thought that has been scorned by religious leaders in India and remains on the periphery of Indian philosophical thought. After 500 B.C.E., the term acquired a more derogatory connotation and became synonymous with sophistry.

Melong, Mirror…Melong is a Tibetan term that means "mirror", "looking glass". The melong is a polyvalent symbol, divine attribute, and quality of the enlightened mindstream or bodhicitta.

Mithraism & The Eye of Mithra …Who has ten thousand eyes, the exalted one, Who has wide knowledge, the helpful one, Who sleeps not, the ever wakeful.

Mithras in the Greek Magical Papyri Rituals…papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, which each contain a number of magical spells, formulae, hymns and rituals. The materials in the papyri date from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.

Mleccha' and Shambhala…Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit म्लेच्छ mleccha, meaning "non-Vedic", "barbarian"), also spelt as Mlechchha, referred to people of foreign extraction in ancient India. Mleccha was used by the ancient Indians much as the ancient Greeks used barbaros, originally to indicate the uncouth and incomprehensible speech of foreigners and then extended to their unfamiliar behaviour

Mount Mashu & The Scorpion Seal…Gilgamesh reached Mount Mashu, which daily guards the rising and setting of the Sun,……there were Scorpion-beings watching over its gate.

Mt Meru, Mt Harā, Yungdrung Gutsek & The Pamirs…Mount Meru (Sanskrit: मेरु), also called Sumeru (Sanskrit) or Sineru (Pāli) or Kangrinboqe to which is added the approbatory prefix su-, resulting in the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru" and Mahameru i.e. "Great Meru" (Chinese: 須彌山, Japanese: 須弥山 Shumi-sen, Pāli Neru), is a sacred mountain in Hindu, Jain as well as Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes.

Mt Noshaq & the Kalasha Valleys…Noshaq is Afghanistan's highest mountain and is located in the northeastern corner of the country…. It is the westernmost 7,000 m (22,966 ft) peak in the world. Easiest access to Noshaq is from Chitral, Pakistan.

Mu Cord (dmu thag) & Rainbow Body (Jalü)…The Tibetan kings were said to remain connected to the heavens via a dmu cord (dmu thag) so that rather than dying, they ascended directly to heaven

Mukpo & the Black Headed People… I have kept the name Mukpo as my family name, my identity, my pride

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Niguma, Lady of Illusion (11th C.)

Natural Perfection ... Pristine Rigpa….Dzogchen has been practised throughout the centuries by masters of all the different schools as their innermost practice. Its origins reach back to before human history, and neither is it limited to Buddhism, nor to Tibet, nor indeed even to this world of ours, as it is recorded that it has existed in thirteen different world systems.

Naturalism & Paganism…Paganism is a broad group of indigenous and historical polytheistic religious traditions

Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom…The similarity between the Navajo and Tibetan spiritual traditions has often been remarked upon by scholars……Peter Gold substantiates the shared knowledge of these seemingly disparate people by drawing extensive parallels among many aspects of both cultures: creation myths, cosmology, geomancy, psychology,

Navbahar Buddhist Stupa, Balkh….Navbahar (also known as Nava Vihara) was a Buddhist stupa or monastery near the ancient city of Balkh in northern Afghanistan. The temple may have been an old Zoroastrian fire-temple, or it may have been converted to a Zoroastrian temple.

Nestorian Christians ….Nestorianism….the diffusion of the Church of the East in and after the 7th century spread it widely across Asia.

Nikbanou & Chak Chak…. Nikbanou, the youngest daughter of the last king of the Persian Empire, took shelter in the mountain and prayed to Ahura Mazda for help from the Arab attackers. Miraculously, the mountain opened up and gave her protection.

Nine Gods of Shambhala… in a past age there were three brothers, Dagpa (Dag-pa), Selba (gSal-ba) and Shepa (Shes-pa), who studied the Bön doctrines in the heaven named Sridpa Yesang (Srid-pa Ye-sangs), under the Bön sage Bumtri Logi Chechen (`Bum-khri gLog-gi lCe-can)….When they had completed their studies they visited the God of Compassion Shenlha Ökar (gShen-lha `Od-dkar) and asked him how they could help living beings who are submerged in the misery and sorrow of suffering. Shenlha Ökar advised them to act as guides to mankind in three successive ages of the world.

Nine Successive Stages…."Thegpa Rimgu'i Bon (Theg pa rim dgu'i Bon), "The Bon of the Nine Successive Stages [or simply] 'The Nine Ways of Bon'". The first four are the cause (rGyud kyi theg pa) the next four are the ways of result ('Bras bu'i theg pa) and the ninth is the Great Perfection (rDzogs chen).

Non-Visible Beings & Non-Ordinary Reality…Shamans share a basic conception of ordinary & non-ordinary reality, and they moving in and between these two worlds.

Nuristani People….The Nuristani people are an Indo-Iranian-speaking ethnic group native to the Nuristan region of eastern Afghanistan. The Nuristanis are a people whose ancestors practised what was apparently an ancient Indo-Iranian polytheistic Vedic religion until they were conquered and converted to Islam

Nālandā & Nava Vihara…Nālandā was an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India from the fifth century AD to 1197 AD…..Nava Vihara, the main monastery at Balkh, soon became the center of higher Buddhist study for all of Central Asia, comparable to Nalanda Monastery in central northern India.

Naiman Warriors…. (1177 AD)

Naturalism & Paganism….

Nava Vihara….

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OXUS River….

Oddiyana….

Ohrmazd : Ahura Mazda….Zoroaster exhorts his followers to pay reverence to only the ahuras, and to rebuff the daevas.

Olmo Lung-ring & Shambhala…. Olmo Lungring or Shambhala, this imperishable sacred land, which is the spiritual center of the world, existed on earth from the very beginning of the human race.

Orissa & the Indo-European Migration (1500 BC)

Ösel and Śūnyatā

ORACLES: Tibet, Greece, Central Asia, Persia….The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India, still consults an oracle known as the Nechung Oracle, which is considered the official state oracle of the government of Tibet.

Origins of Dzogchen…..1,800 years later, Mucho Dem Drug organized and classified the entire teaching of Tonpa Shenrab into four categories….the forth category, ‘mDzod’ consists of the teachings on Dzogchen meditation practices.

Origins of Sufism…Zoroastrianism and Sufism have the same origin, Sufism definitely predates Islam in Iran.

Origins of the I Ching…Traditionally, the I Ching and its hexagrams were thought to pre-date recorded history, and based on traditional Chinese accounts, its origins trace back to the 3rd to the 2nd millennium BCE.

Orphism & the Bacchic Gold Tablets…..Orphic views and practices are attested as early as Herodotus, Euripides, and Plato. The recently published Derveni papyrus allows Orphic mythology to be dated back to the 4th century BCE, and it is probably even older.

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Persian Origins of Japanese Buddhism

PAWO, Bravery…Pawo (Wylie: dpa' bo; literally "brave guy") is translated "hero" or "warrior"…the Sanskrit terms daka and vira, with similar meaning…..Pawos are typically described in consort with khandros, their feminine counterparts

PHROM GESAR & Bactria…Tazig: appears to signify Persia. 13 days horseback ride from Ling, at a place called Memoyu Thang." ….The Superhuman Life of Gesar of Ling. by; Alexandra David-Neel:

Padmasambhava & Oḍḍiyāna….Padmasambhava lived over 1,300 years ago…. Lake Dhanakosha, in the kingdom of Oḍḍiyāna—that's in present-day Pakistan.

Pandemonium: The Asura/Deva Separation…Panic, Pandemonium, Pandemic, are derived from this Greek legend.

Parsee & Shambhala…Parsis descend from a group of Zoroastrians from Greater Iran who immigrated to Gujarat in western India during the 8th or 10th century to avoid persecution by Muslim invaders

Pas-Anfaas & Kashmiri Sufism/Shaivism…Pas Anfas, which, in Persian, means guarding every breath. Zikr is performed with the heart using breath as the medium.

Persian Warrior Gods….In the ancient Persian tradition, fravashis were powerful supernatural beings able to protect their descendants if duly worshipped.

Plato: Basic Goodness & The Great Eastern Sun…..Socrates and Plato are concerned with our ability to understand "the Good." In place of the many specific examples of goodness which govern many of our lives, they want us to break free of society's assumptions and to grasp the Good for ourselves (the "absolute" good)

Poetess Rabia Balkhi… the first poetess in the history of New Persian poetry. References to her can be found in the poetry of Rūdakī and 'Attār… she was a native of Balkh in Khorāsān (now in Afghanistan). Some evidences indicate that she lived during the same period as Rūdakī, the court poet to the Samanid Emir Naṣr II (914-943).

Poetry & Shambhala….Chogyam is spinning, watching the spinning/samsara….If there is no Samsara/spinning there is no chogyam

Proto-Indo-Iranian Religions… the religion of the Indo-Iranian peoples prior to the earliest Vedic (Indo-Aryan) and Zoroastrian (Iranian) scriptures. These share a common inheritance of concepts including the universal force *rta (Vedic rta, Avestan asha)

Puranas & The Kalachakra Texts…The Samba Purana (Sanskrit: साम्ब पुराण, Sāmba Purāṇa) is one of the Saura Upapuranas. This text is dedicated to Surya… in Mitravana on the banks of the Chandrabhaga…..comprises a number of narratives dealing with creation, details of solar system, eclipses, geography of the earth, description of Surya and his attendants, construction of images of these deities, details of yoga, manners and customs, rites and rituals, dissertations of mantras and dana

Purusha, Platonic Solids and Prana…Purusha (Sanskrit puruṣa, पुरुष "man, cosmic man", in Sutra literature also called puṃs "man") is the "Self" which pervades the universe.

Pamir Mountains….K. P. Jayswal identifies Mt Meru of the Puranas with the Hindukush ranges and locates the Uttakuru in the Pamirs itself

Pamirs and Uighur Khocho….the Buddhist Yugur of Gansu, by contrast, have consistently been called by themselves and others the "Yellow Uyghur" (Säriq Uyghur)

RIGPA….A Dzogchen Master STARTS with "direct introduction" with everyone. If they don't "get it" then one starts to use all the infinite methods and means to help bring about the experience of Rigpa.

Rabatak Inscription & the Bactrian Language…The Rabatak inscription is an inscription written on a rock in the Bactrian language and the Greek script, which was found in 1993 at the site of Rabatak, near Surkh Kotal in Afghanistan. The inscription relates to the rule of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, and gives remarkable clues on the genealogy of the Kushan dynasty.

Radiant Matter & Radiant Light…Plasma (from Greek πλάσμα, "anything formed") is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and gas). It comprises the major component of the Sun.

Rawak Stupa & Khotan…a Buddhist stupa located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in China, along the famous trade route known as the Silk Road in the first millennium Kingdom of Khotan.

Rigden Kings of Shambhala Kalachakra…The Tibetan word rigden means “possessor of the family.” Usually the term refers to the historical-legendary kings of Shambhala.

Rigveda, The Vedas…The Rigveda (Sanskrit: ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise, verse"and veda "knowledge") is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns….contains several mythological and poetical accounts of the origin of the world, hymns praising the gods, and ancient prayers for life, prosperity, etc.[…. one of the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language….composed in the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent, roughly between 1700–1100 BC

Rimé Movement & Non-Sectarianism…Rimé is a Tibetan word which means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian". In a religious context, the word ri-mé is usually used to refer to the "Eclectic Movement" between the Buddhist Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu traditions, along with the non-Buddhist Bön religion, wherein practitioners "follow multiple lineages of practice."

Rishis & Rishikas Of Kalachakra …A Rishi (or rishika, when referring to female rishis) is a sage of insight, one who practices self-cultivation as a Yogini or Yogi and attains asamprajñata Samadhi.

Rishis of Kashmiri Sufism & the Kalachakra…The Rishi order of Kashmir is a Sufi tradition associated with religious harmony. Many of the saints held dear by Kashmiris to this day were Sufi Rishis.

Royal Tombs of Ur (2500 BC)….The city dates from the Ubaid period circa 3800 BC, and is recorded in written history as a City State from the 26th century BC, its first recorded king being Mesh-Ane-pada.

Russian Shambhala Research…The spread of the Shambhala myth and the Kalachakra Tantra in the West has a history of its own….commences at the beginning of the twentieth century in Russia with the religious political activity of an ethnic Buriat by the name of Agvan Dorjiev.

Reality….

Rigden King Suchandra….

Rigden Manjushrí Kírti….

Roman Empire….

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Shivini: Solar Deity of Utartu (9th Century BC)

Solar Kingdoms & The Great Khorasan Road

SACRED SITES AND POWER SPOTS……Worldwide attention is being drawn to power spots (spiritual spots), where one can obtain energy from the earth and nature

Sacred Feminine in Shambhala…a sacred feminine archetype can occupy a very central place in prayer and worship.

Sacred Fire…fire personified in Indo-European religion….Atar in Zoroastrianism…..Agni in Vedic religion and Hinduism

Sacred Geometry: Pythagoras & Kalachakra….Pythagoras had undertaken extensive travels, and had visited not only Egypt, but Arabia, Phoenicia, Judaea, Babylon, and even India, for the purpose of collecting all available knowledge, and especially to learn information concerning the secret or mystic cults of the gods

Sacred Mountains & Shambhala….Many religions have some sacred mountains - that either are holy (like Mount Olympus in Greek mythology) or are related to famous events (Mount Sinai in Judaism). In some cases, the sacred mountain is purely mythical, like the Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism.

Sangwa Dupa: The Guhyasamaja …the Guhyasamāja Tantra was taught for the first time by the Buddha in the form of Vajradhara to Indrabhuti the King of Oddiyana, also called King Dza.

Secular vs Sectarian…. Secular: not subject to or bound by religious rule; not belonging to or living in a monastic or other order…….when people believe one sect is better than the other, or that one sect is more right than the other, sectarianism may take over

Sexual Cosmology & Shambhala….the placing of the feminine in the universe in relationship to all other entities.

Shahnameh of Ferdowsi….. the Shahnameh tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian empire from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.

Shamanism in Central Asia….Shamans perform a variety of functions depending upon their respective cultures; healing, leading a sacrifice,preserving the tradition by storytelling and songs, divination, and acting as a psychopomp (literal meaning, "guide of souls").

Shamash, Sams ('Sun"), Shamis en Balkh …..Shamash (Akkadian Šamaš "Sun"), was a native Mesopotamian deity and the sun god in the Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons. Shamash was the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu. Akkadian šamaš is cognate to Syriac šemša or šimšu Hebrew שֶׁמֶשׁ šemeš and Arabic شمس šams.

SHAMBA….

SOGDIANA….

Sacral Kingship….

Sacred Dance & Magical Movement….

Sacred Fire…. in the mid-5th century BCE the Zoroastrians worshipped to the open sky, ascending mounds to light their fires.

Sanskrit Origins ….

Secular vs Sectarian….

Sgra (Sound), Bija, & Melody….

Shamanism in Central Asia….the Buddhist schools of Tibet attempted to suppress Indigenous Tibetan Religion, was by accusing Bon practitioners of being ‘intellectually uncivilized’ – of being mere primitive shamans.

Shambhala & Fire Pujas….

Shambhala & The White Turban….

Shambhala Training and The Kalachakra….

Shambhala Vision of Chogyam Trungpa…. Shambhala is the Central Asian kingdom that-developed in the countries of the Middle East, Russia, China, and Tibet altogether. The basic idea of Shambhala vision is that a sane society developed out of that culture, and we are trying to emulate that vision. That particular system broke down into the Taoist tradition and Bon tradition of Tibet, the Islamic tradition of the Middle East, and whatever tradition Russia might have. It has broken into various factions."

Shambhala as Human Historical Achievement….

Shambhala in the Mahabharata….The Buddhist myth of Shambhala is an adaptation of the earlier Hindu myth of Kalki of Sambhala found in the Mahabharata and the Puranas.

Syncretism in Central Asian Traditions…. In Bhutan, the spiritual life of the Layaps and Lunaps is a fascinating demonstration of what anthropologists call religious synchronism.

Sambhala & Sambalpur, Orissa

Shamis en Balkh (Bactra, 67E..36N)…..شامس EN بلخ…….Balkh was a nexus point, a world navel, in which the marvelous happened, and from which the marvelous became what we know as Sufism, Zoroastrianism and Tibetan Buddhism. They were all cooked in the oven of Balkh.

Shamis en Balkh ... The Photographs …“All roads lead to Balkh,” uttered Gurdjieff, referring to the Sufic origin of all systems. Yesai Narai writes, “Balkh is the town often associated with Padmasambhava, and Rabia and Rumi as well.

Shamis en Balkh Ruins …There is also a tradition that Dzogchen, and Padmasambhava, come from a place called Oddiyana in Shamballa. Texts from the archeological site in Dunhuang identify Oddiyana as Shamis en Balkh in modern day Balkh, Afghanistan where many ruins, Buddhist stupas and monasteries exist.

Shamis en Balkh from Google Earth ….Balkh is one of the oldest cities in the world and is considered to be the first city to which the Indo-Iranian tribes moved from the North of Amu Darya, between 2000 - 1500 BC. The Arabs called it Umm Al-Belaad or Mother of Cities due to its antiquity.

Shamis en Balkh...The Ancient City …Balkh was referred to as the “Mother of Cities” and the “Elevated Candle” (Sham-i-Bala) and it was in Balkh that the great Prophet Zoroaster was born.

Shamis-en-balkh and Historical Shambhala …a number of Buddhist religious centres had flourished in Khorasan the most important was the Nawbahar (New Temple) near the town of Balkh , which evidently served as a pilgrimage centre for political leaders who came from far and wide to pay homage to it.

Shams-i-Balkh..... Shambhala Moon Temple …. the Shambhala king lives in a palace made from every conceivable gem and diamond. The architecture is based upon the laws of the heavens. There is a sun temple and a moon temple, a replica of the zodiac and the astral orbits.

Shams-i-Balkh..... Shambhala Sun Temple …. In the history of Afghanistan we have evidence that sun worship and sun-god statues were prevalent until the Kushan period…. the real name of Khurshed Khana is home of the sun.

Shangdi & The Book Of Rites …Shangdi (Chinese: 上帝, p Shàngdì, w Shang-ti), also written simply as Di (帝), is a supreme sky deity in China's traditional religion.

Shangshung, Ling & Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring ….Zhang Zhung, Shang Shung, or Tibetan Pinyin Xang Xung, was an ancient culture and kingdom of western and northwestern Tibet, which pre-dates the culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Zhang Zhung culture is associated with the Bon religion

Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (1859-1934)…Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (Tibetan: ཤར་རྫ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་རྒྱལ་མཚན, Wylie: shar rdza bkra shis rgyal mtshan) was a great Dzogchen master of the Tibetan Bon tradition who not only took Bon disciples but gathered disciples from all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. According to tradition, he famously realized the rainbow body.

Sherab Chamma ….also called in Tibetan language "Thugje Chamma", (the loving mother of compassion) is considered in the Bon tradition to be the Gyalyum (rgyal yum), the mother of all buddhas. She embodies the perfection of wisdom. In the Buddhist tradition of India Chamma is called Prajnaparamita or Tara, the "saviouress."

Shi Wai Tao Yuan: The Peach Blossom Land ….In the East, "Shangri-la" means an ideal living place, like the Garden of Eden or heaven in western countries. Shangri-la (Shi Wai Tao Yuan) was bdescribed in the poetic imagery depicted in Tao Hua Yuan Ji by the famous poet Tao Yuanming in the Jin Dynasty.

Shinto: Shin Tao , Way of the Gods, Kami, Drala….The word Shinto ("Way of the Gods") was adopted from the written Chinese (神道, pinyin: shén dào),combining two kanji: "shin" (神?), meaning "spirit" or kami; and "tō" (道?), meaning a philosophical path or study (from the Chinese word dào)

Shuddhodana : Father of the Buddha ….King Suddhodana (Sanskrit: Śuddhodana; Japanese: 浄飯王 Jōbon-ō) was the father of Gautama Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya people, who lived in Kapilvastu and was a righteous king.

Silver Palace in the Garuda Valley ... …..Kyunglung (Tibetan: ཁྱུང་ལུང་དངུལ་མཁར།, ZYPY: Kyunglung Ngükar), the "Silver Palace of Garuda Valley", southwest of Mount Kailash (Gang Ti-se), which is identified with palaces found in the upper Sutlej Valley was the capital city of the ancient kingdom of Zhang Zhung…..

Silver/Gold Sculpture ...Bactria , ca. 2000 BCE…Some of the Greco-Bactrian coins, and those of their successors the Indo-Greeks, are considered the finest examples of Greek numismatic art with "a nice blend of realism and idealization", including the largest coins to be minted in the Hellenistic world:

Six Lamps: Lhündrub Tögal in Bon Dzogchen….Lhündrub Tögal (Tibetan: ལྷུན་གྲུབ་ཐོད་རྒལ།, Wylie: lhun grub thod rgal) is a Dzogchen term and practice which holds the semantic field "leaping over", "direct crossing" and "direct approach"…..Tögal is the practice of "the six lamps" which constitute the preliminaries and the main practice.

Skandhas …In Bon, the five elemental processes of earth, water, fire, air and space are the essential elements of all existent phenomena or skandhas (aggregates) the most subtle enumeration of which are known as the five pure lights..

Sogdians (4-10th c.) & Tibet Migration ….The Sogdian states, although never politically united, were centered around the main city of Samarkand. Sogdiana lay north of Bactria, east of Khwarezm, and southeast of Kangju between the Oxus (Amu Darya) and the Jaxartes (Syr Darya), embracing the fertile valley of the Zeravshan (ancient Polytimetus).

Sol Invictus, Mithras, The Great Eastern Sun …Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") was the official sun god of the later Roman Empire…the date of 25 December for Christmas was selected in order to correspond with the Roman festival of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun"

Strirajya: The Land of Women (330 BC)…According to Rajatarangini of Kalhana, king Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir leads a war expedition against the tribes of north (i.e. north of Kashmir) and in sequence, encounters the Kambojas, Tusharas, Bhauttas, Daradas, Valukambudhis, Uttarakurus, Strirajya (mythical or otherwise) and Pragjyotisha with whom he fights one after the other.

Sumerian Tablets & The Kaballah….The earliest record of the Sumerian creation and flood is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated in Nippur, sometimes called the Eridu Genesis. It is written in the Sumerian language and dated to around 1600 BC during the first Babylonian dynasty.

Sumerian Wisdom Literature (1750 BC)…Instructions of Shuruppak (or, Instructions of Šuruppak son of Ubara-tutu) is a significant piece of Sumerian wisdom literature.

Sumeru: Geography ……Mount Meru or Mount Sumeru (Skt. sumeruparvata; Tib. རི་རབ་, Wyl. ri rab) is a mountain square in shape with four sides, larger at the top than at the bottom….we are living on the southern continent of Jambudvipa and the southern side of Mount Meru is blue, this explains why the seas around and the sky above us are blue. The shine of the blue lapis-lazuli reflects on the marine waters in front. Upon hitting the surface it reflects and appears in the space above. So rather than there being something blue above us, the space appears blue because of the reflection of the lapis-lazuli of Mount Meru's southern side.

Surkh Kotal & The Kushan Empire….Surkh Kotal (Persian: سرخ‌کوتل‎), also called Chashma-i Shir or Sar-i Chashma, is an ancient archaeological site located in the southern part of the region of Bactria….the most famous artifacts of this site are the Surkh Kotal inscriptions, the statue of King Kanishka and the fire altar.

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TIGER Dignity… there is much fascination with tigers in Tibet, a symbol of divine power, martial prowess and magical ability.

Taht-I-Suleiman… the mountain is "the most complete example of a sacred mountain anywhere in Central Asia, worshipped over several millennia"

Taoism & Shambhala… at the end of his life the Chinese Taoist teacher Lao-Tzu, returned to Shambhala, although he called it Tebu Land. . . .

Kalachakra Prophets…"One passage of the Kālachakra (Śri Kālachakra I. 161) reads, "The Chakravartin shall come out at the end of the age, from the city the gods fashioned on Mount Kailasa. He shall smite the barbarians in battle with his own four-division army, on the entire surface of the earth."

Mahabharata…The Kurukshetra War was, according to the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata, a conflict that arose from a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins of an Indo-Aryan kingdom called Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. It involved a number of ancient kingdoms...believed to date variously from 6000 BCE to 500 BCE

MES…Ancient Blueprints to Civilization…In Sumerian mythology, a me (Sumerian, conventionally pronounced [mɛ]) or ñe [ŋɛ] or parşu (Akkadian, [parsˤu]) is one of the decrees of the gods foundational to those social institutions, religious practices, technologies, behaviors, mores, and human conditions that make civilization, as the Sumerians understood it, possible. They are fundamental to the Sumerian understanding of the relationship between humanity and the gods.

Scorpion Seal …A stylized scorpion is often used as a seal by tantric lamas. It has 3 eyes, 8 five-segmented legs, and a tail with nine joints. The mathematics gives 52, the number of weeks in a year. It is coloured blue, green and red to stand for 3 of the five traditional elements: space/ether, air, and fire.

Tiger,Lion,Garuda,Dragon Dignities…The four animals (with the snow lion replacing the yak) also recur frequently in the Gesar epic

Tillya Tepe & The Bactrian Treasure…a collection of about 20,000 gold ornaments that were found in six graves (five women and one man) with extremely rich jewelry, dated to around the 1st century BCE.

Trapussa and Bhallika…Tradition has it that Trapussa and Bhallika, two merchant brothers from Bactria visited the Buddha immediately after his enlightenment, became his first disciples….

Twenty-One Nails… Oral Transmission of Zhang Zhung Bon…precepts, principally the Twenty-one Nails and the Six Lamps, that form the canonical teachings of the Zhang Zhung Oral tradition

TANTRA….

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Umm-al-Belad & The Kayanian Dynasty….Umm-al-belad, The Mother of Cities......the city of Balkh, near modern Mazar-e Sharif, is known as "the mother of cities" (Umm al Bilad) .

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Vajra Caste & Kalachakra….The purpose of the Vajra Caste was not force everyone to convert to Buddhism ….

Vedas….The Vedas are apauruṣeya ("not of human agency"). They are supposed to have been directly revealed, and thus are called śruti ("what is heard"), distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called smṛti ("what is remembered").

Vegetarian Diet of Shambhala….One of the main principles of the Manichaeans was a vegetarian diet of mainly green and yellow foods. Supposedly, light was concentrated in these foods

Veneration & Offerings….Veneration (Latin veneratio, Greek δουλεία, douleia), is the act of honoring a God, saint, or a teacher who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or wisdom. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Philologically, "to venerate" derives from the Latin verb, venerare, meaning to regard with reverence and respect

Vidyadhara Rigdens….The Rigdens other than Rigden Raudrachakrin are of the Asura family because of bestowing fear

Vimāna, Lung-gom, and the Flight of Rigden King….Vimana: From that meaning Pushpaka or Dandumonara; the flying palace of king Rāvana of Lanka…….a chariot of the gods, any mythical self-moving aerial car (sometimes serving as a seat or throne, sometimes self-moving and carrying its occupant through the air; other descriptions make the Vimana more like a house or palace, and one kind is said to be seven stories high).

Vishvamata: World Mother….

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WERMA DEITIES…To the masters the Werma are important. The Werma whirl like snow-storms, those they escort are the practitioners, those they assist are the practitioners, those they protect are the practitioners. We proffer the well-prepared offerings and confess errors if we have mingled with evil!" (Drung, Deu and Bon....1995..... page 55)

Way of Nangshen… the Shen of the Visible World…..In Bon, Nangshen, comprises various rituals for purification to summon energy and enhance prosperity, to suppress and liberate negative forces, and to invoke and make offerings to powerful deities and pay ransoms to demonic spirits. This way is principally concerned with visible manifestations (snang ba) perceived as positive manifestations of the activities of the gods (lha) who come to the aid of humanity. Therefore, the emphasis is placed on invoking the gods (lha gsol ba) for their aid. This includes such classes of deities as the Thugs dkar, the sGra bla, the Wer ma, and so on.

White Turban Iconography… The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have worn a turban in white, the most holy colour.

World Heritage Sites in Central Asia…The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has designated 19 World Heritage Sites in six countries (also called "state parties") of Central and North Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Asian part of Russia.

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Yeshe Tsogyal …(757–817)…She became the consort of King Trisong Detsen before being offered to Guru Rinpoche as a mandala offering during an empowerment. She specialized in the practice of Vajrakilaya and experienced visions of the deity and gained accomplishment. In Nepal, she paid a ransom for Acharya Salé and took him as her spiritual consort. Through the power of her unfailing memory, she collected all the teachings given by Guru Rinpoche in Tibet and concealed them as terma. At the end of her life, it is said, she flew through the air and went directly to Zangdokpalri.

Yung Drung Bon…Yungdrung Bon was founded by the Buddha Tönpa Shenrab Miwoche. He discovered the methods of attaining enlightenment and is considered to be a figure analogous to Gautama Buddha. He was said to have lived 18,000 years ago in the land of Olmo Lung Ring, part of the land of Tagzig (see Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring), to the west of present day Tibet

Xuanzang…. (635 AD)

Yung Drung Bon….

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Zhang Qian…. (2nd C. BC)

Zhutrul Yeshi & Mucho Demdrug

Zarathustra & Zoroastrianism…Zoroaster's death was said to have been in Balkh located in present-day Afghanistan during the Holy War between Turan and the Persian empire in 583 BC. Jamaspa, his son-in-law, then became Zoroaster's successor.

Zhang-zhung Kingdom… & Shambhala…Zhang Zhung, Shang Shung, or Tibetan Pinyin Xang Xung, was an ancient culture and kingdom of western and northwestern Tibet, which pre-dates the culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Zhang Zhung culture is associated with the Bon religion

Ziggurats & Calahs of Central Asia…Ziggurats (/ˈzɪɡʊˌræt/, Akkadian ziqqurat, D-stem of zaqāru "to build on a raised area") were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.

Ziji & Shenrab Miwo…."The work of Shenrap still exists in Tibet in the form of 400 volumes, but it has undergone heavy Buddhist editing." (Trungpa: 1978..pg 220)....The Tibetan texts "Ziji" (gZi brid) and "Zermig" (gZer mig)(Piercing Eye) Two biographies of Shenrab Miwo (Mibo).

Zurvanism… & Shambhala….In Zurvanism, Zurvan is the god of infinite time (and space) and is aka (“one", "alone”) deity of matter.